Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a heroic character. An epic's ambitious nature helps to set it apart from other genres such as the period piece or adventure film .
120-488: Hey Ram ( transl. Oh! Ram ) is a 2000 Indian epic historical drama film written, directed, and produced by Kamal Haasan , that stars him and Shah Rukh Khan (in his Tamil debut) in lead roles. It was simultaneously made in the Tamil and Hindi languages. The film's soundtrack and score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja . It is an alternate history film that depicts India's Partition , Direct Action Day and
240-564: A 1982 film , to reprise the role in Hey Ram but dropped the idea as he felt "it would be cliched and the film wouldn't be honest". He later approached Naseeruddin Shah , who portrayed Gandhi in a play. Shah was initially reluctant due to the long hours of makeup required, but eventually accepted. Haasan wanted a Bengali woman to portray Saket Ram's Bengali wife Aparna, and chose Rani Mukerji , also because of her Bollywood stardom. Saurabh Shukla
360-551: A Bachelor of Science degree. Both Huseyn and his elder brother Hasan studied in St Catherine's College, Oxford . They entertained themselves with D. H. Lawrence , Robert Trevelyn, Bertrand Russell , Hugh Kingsmill , Basanta Kumar Mullick , Kiran Shankar Roy, Apurba Chanda, Sri Prakash, S K Gupta, Surendra Kumar Sen, and Syud Hossain . The elder Suhrawardy (Hasan) was in Oxford when Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore became
480-555: A Master of Arts in Arabic from Calcutta. Suhrawardy became a barrister . He was called to the Bar of England and Wales through Gray's Inn in 1922–23. His first son Shahab died of pneumonia. His second son Rashid Suhrawardy was a British theatre actor. Rashid starred in the film Jinnah along with Christopher Lee . His granddaughter Shahida Jamil served as Pakistan's law minister. His nieces include Princess Sarvath al-Hassan of
600-730: A Library and Information Centre of the Bangladesh High Commission in India by the city's Waqf board. The Suhrawardy family are regarded as one of the illustrious families of the Indian subcontinent . Claiming themselves as descendants of the first caliph of Islam , the Suhrawardy lineage is traced to Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi , a Sufi who lived in Baghdad during the 12th century. The Suhrawardiyya order
720-464: A Special Branch Inspector of Calcutta Police at 500,000. The latter figure is impossibly high and the Star of India reporter put it at about 100,000. The main speakers were Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin and Chief Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Khwaja Nazimuddin in his speech preached peacefulness and restraint but spoilt the effect and flared up the tensions by stating that till 11 o'clock that morning all
840-510: A disguised Abhyankar, who introduces them to a dethroned Maharaja. During a hunting trip with Abhyankar and the Maharaja, Ram is reunited with his old Sindhi friend from Calcutta, Manohar Lalwani, who lost his family and home in the riots. After seeing Lalwani's misery, Ram realises he has still not gotten over Aparna's murder and his hatred is reignited. Abhyankar and the Maharaj's group hold
960-709: A few days later on the anniversary of the bloody riots. Ram travels to Calcutta alone, where he visits his old home and laments at his loss. Then he joins a mob that confronts Gandhi and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy , the Chief Minister of Bengal , about the bloody riots. When questioned about whether they take full responsibility for the riots, both of them accept it and ask for forgiveness. The mob forgives them, but Ram refuses to. Although Ram remains aloof at first, he slowly falls in love with Mythili. However, on their honeymoon in Maharashtra , Ram and Mythili bump into
1080-430: A great joy to Tamil cinema! A Tamilian has created a film that caters to international standards." Methil Renuka of India Today praised the film's "technical wizardry" and cast performances but called it "difficult to categorize". K. N. Vijiyan of New Straits Times said, "To this writer, the message of the need for unity among various religious faiths was well told by Kamalhaasan". S. Chandramouli of Kalki praised
1200-421: A group of Muslims. They rape Aparna, but upon discovering that the police are entering the building, slit Aparna's throat and flee. Unable to cope with his tragic loss, Ram takes his gun and attempts to follow them. He manages to find Altaf, who begs for mercy, although Ram kills him. Ram continues to shoot at Muslims committing violence in the streets until he runs into Shriram Abhyankar, a Thanjavur Marathi who
1320-485: A heart attack. After his death, the Awami League veered towards Bengali nationalism , the 6-point movement , East Pakistani secession and ultimately Bangladeshi independence in 1971. According to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, "Bengalis had initially failed to appreciate a leader of Mr. Suhrawardy's stature. By the time they learned to value him, they had run out of time". Suhrawardy's only daughter Begum Akhtar Sulaiman
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#17327978714331440-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia
1560-501: A native Tamil speaker, Khan dubbed in his own voice. It marks Khan's debut in Tamil cinema . He did not ask for any remuneration from Haasan, as he considered it an honour and privilege to work with one of his mentors. The Marathi actor Mohan Gokhale was initially cast as Shriram Abhyankar; he had started working on the film in Madras but died suddenly due to a heart attack. Haasan later chose Atul Kulkarni , another Marathi actor, to do
1680-516: A nuclear swimming pool reactor from America in 1956. In 1956, Prime Minister Suhrawardy halted the National Finance Commission (NFC) programme to allocate taxed revenue equally between East and West Pakistan . A poor harvest led to heavy imports that year, mostly in the form of foreign aid, to meet food shortages. The United States agreed to sell $ 46.4 million in rice, wheat, and other farm products, about 80% of which
1800-469: A purification and renouncement ritual. Then, he heads for Delhi and unknowingly stays at the same hotel as another fundamentalist planning to kill Gandhi, Nathuram Godse . When the police arrive to question Godse, a paranoid Ram hides his gun on a delivery truck, which departs from the hotel. Later on, Ram goes to the soda factory in Chandni Chowk in order to retrieve his gun. In Chandni Chowk, Ram
1920-528: A statement on a largely uneducated audience is construed by some to be an open invitation to disorder indeed, many of the listeners are reported to have started attacking Hindus and looting Hindu shops as soon as they left the meeting. Subsequently, there were reports of lorries (trucks) that came down Harrison Road in Calcutta, carrying hardline Muslim gangsters armed with brickbats and bottles as weapons and attacking Hindu-owned shops. A 6 pm curfew
2040-539: A teenager. Haasan initially intended to title the film as Satya Sodanai ( transl. Experiments With Truth ), a reference to the title of Gandhi's autobiography, published in English as The Story of My Experiments with Truth , but later decided on Hey Ram , the last words allegedly spoken by Gandhi when he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse . The film was produced by Haasan and his brother Chandrahasan under their banner Raaj Kamal Films International , and
2160-532: Is his brother Ram who despite everything, saved his life. He then dies holding Ram's hand. Subsequently, Ram runs into his father-in-law and his friend who are there to meet Gandhi. He learns that his uncle and elder sister have died after learning he has left. Gandhi requests to see Ram to invite him on his long walk to Pakistan after finding out he helped save innocent Muslims. Ram ultimately changes his mind about Gandhi after seeing that his teachings are all about love and non-violence. He decides against assassinating
2280-407: Is his homeland. After the archaeological site is shut down out of fear of riots, young Ram returns to Calcutta to be with his wife, Aparna. On his way home, he witnesses the riots and chaos during Direct Action Day . While out to get some food, Ram manages to save an innocent Sikh girl from a Muslim mob. When he returns to his house, he is attacked and held hostage by his family tailor, Altaf and
2400-432: Is leading a group of a Hindus. Realising that they are both Hindu and thus not enemies, Abhyankar offers Ram a chance to join his militia. Abhyankar informs Ram that the individual responsible is none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and gives him a banned book on anti-Gandhi rhetoric to read. In 1947, now having returned to his hometown of Thanjavur , Ram's brother Bhashyam and sister Vasantha urge him to remarry. He
2520-494: Is no other claim or evidence have been found. Suhrawardy attempted to control the situation by unsuccessfully calling for peace and deployment of the Indian Army in Calcutta with no success. The riots ended with thousand deaths and the Indian press blaming Suhrawardy of obstructing the police work, which is well documented by several authors and eyewitnesses. According to authorities, the riots were instigated by members of
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#17327978714332640-419: Is one of his [Ilaiyaraaja's] best efforts". S R Ramakrishna of The Music Magazine wrote "Ilaiyaraja's score brings back the grandeur, allusiveness and haunting beauty of his best work. Hey Ram is an exciting album". Hey Ram was released simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi on 18 February 2000. A digitally remastered version of the film was released on 8 November 2019 on Amazon Prime Video . Internationally,
2760-793: Is one of the major Sunni orders of Sufism . His grandfather, Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy , was a Dhaka -based Sufi leader of the Bengali Renaissance and buried beside the Lalbagh Fort . His father Justice Sir Zahid Suhrawardy was a Judge of the Calcutta High Court . His brother Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy was a linguist, poet, art-critic and diplomat. His uncles included Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Suhrawardy and Sir Abdullah Al-Mamun Suhrawardy . His cousin Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah
2880-462: Is reunited with Amjad, who takes him to the soda factory. It is revealed that many Muslims civilians, including Amjad's wife Nafisa and their children, are hiding there out of fear of being attacked by Hindus during curfew. When it is discovered that Ram came there for a gun, the Muslims, suspicious that he might be out to kill them, attack him. A fight ensues that triggers a series of violent events in
3000-485: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about
3120-477: Is then married to the daughter of family friends, Mythili. While his wedding is being celebrated across the village, Ram tells his childhood friends Vedha and Yegham that he has no reason to be happy since the world's biggest political divorce is going on with the partition of India. During his first night, he learns that Mythili, like her family, are supporters of Gandhi and that the Mahatma will be visiting Calcutta
3240-745: The Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1937. In 1946, Suhrawardy led the BPML to decisively win the provincial general election . He served as Bengal's last premier until the Partition of India . His premiership was notable for his proposal to create a Free State of Bengal and failing to prevent the Great Calcutta Killings . Muhammad Ali Jinnah , leader of the Muslim League, supported an independent Bengal; this
3360-874: The Calcutta Khilafat Committee during the 1920s amid the dissolution of the Ottoman caliphate and the Turkish War of Independence ; the Bengal Muslim Election Board; the United Muslim Party; and the Independent Muslim Party. In 1937, Suhrawardy was elected to the newly formed Bengal Legislative Assembly . He was appointed as Minister of Commerce and Labor in the cabinet of the 1st Prime Minister of Bengal A. K. Fazlul Huq . In 1940,
3480-732: The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). He was not keen on nonalignment which was strongly pursued by neighboring India. Suhrawardy toured the United States, was hosted by President Eisenhower at the White House , and met with American movie stars in Hollywood . In domestic policy, Suhrawardy addressed issues of nuclear energy , foreign aid utilization, food policy, the One Unit framework, and building up
3600-560: The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan . Later, a separate meeting of legislators from West Bengal decided by 58 votes to 21 that the province should be partitioned and that West Bengal should join the Constituent Assembly of India . In another separate meeting of legislators from East Bengal, it was decided by 106 votes to 35 that the province should not be partitioned and 107 votes to 34 that East Bengal should join Pakistan in
3720-686: The Dominion of Pakistan , with residences in the federal capital Karachi and the provincial capital Dhaka . His cousin Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah called for Pakistan's constituent assembly to convene in Dacca as East Bengal was home to the majority of Pakistan's population. Suhrawardy joined the Awami League , a party formed in 1949 to counter the erstwhile ruling Muslim League. Suhrawardy emerged as
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3840-531: The Great Calcutta Killings in 1946. The Muslim League called a strike to press its demand for the creation of Pakistan . The strike degenerated into brutal and widespread Hindu-Muslim riots in which thousands were killed on both sides. The riots were seen by some as the last nail in the coffin for Hindu-Muslim unity in British India. Troubles started on the morning of 16 August. Even before 10 o'clock Police Headquarters at Lalbazar had reported that there
3960-525: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ; the late Bangladeshi barrister Salma Sobhan ; and the film-maker Naz Ikramullah. Suhrawardy was credited as a pioneering modern political organizer in Bengal. He created 36 trade unions among sailors, railway employees, jute and cotton mills workers, rickshaw pullers, cart drivers and other working class groups dominated by Bengali Muslims . Suhrawardy joined
4080-537: The Lahore Resolution was adopted by Indian Muslim leaders calling for the creation of independent states in eastern and northwestern India; it was unclear if the resolution implied a single state covering the two Muslim-majority regions of India or multiple states. Suhrawardy served as Minister of Civil Supplies in the cabinet of the 2nd Prime Minister of Bengal Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin . According to author Thomas Keneally , Suhrawardy blamed black marketers and
4200-649: The National Assembly , Prime Minister Suhrawardy faced pressure from provincialists over the One Unit. West Pakistani provincialists wanted to restore the previous four provinces of Sind , Balochistan , Punjab and the North West Frontier Province . Large rallies were held in West Pakistan against the One Unit. Prime Minister Suhrawardy, however, did not pay attention to the issue. While East Pakistanis also objected to
4320-613: The Prime Minister of Bengal from 1946 to 1947 in British India . In both Pakistan and Bangladesh , Suhrawardy is regarded as a patron of separate homeland for the Muslims, especially for Bengali Muslims , for which he is revered as one of the founding statesmen of Pakistan. Suhrawardy was a scion of one of British Bengal's most prominent Muslim families, the Suhrawardy family . His father Sir Zahid Suhrawardy
4440-564: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of
4560-710: The Swaraj Party led by Bengali Hindu secularist C. R. Das in 1923. He became the Deputy Mayor of Calcutta in 1924. After the death of Das, Suhrawardy turned to Indian Muslim nationalism . He emerged as a leader of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML), the provincial wing of the Muslim League which his father Zahid had earlier helped create in 1912. Suhrawardy formed several Bengali Muslim political groups, including
4680-684: The US Ambassador to the United Kingdom Lewis Williams Douglas that there was a "distinct possibility Bengal might decide against partition and against joining either Hindustan or Pakistan". Douglas cabled the State Department about the matter. On 20 June 1947, the Bengal Legislative Assembly met to vote on the partition of Bengal. At the preliminary joint session, the assembly decided by 126 votes to 90 that if it remained united it should join
4800-654: The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse . The Hindi version was distributed by Khan's Dreamz Unlimited . Hey Ram received positive reviews, but failed commercially at the box office. It was screened at the International Film Festival of India and selected by the Film Federation of India as its submission to the Oscars in the year 2000, but was not nominated. The film has garnered three National Film Awards . Internationally,
4920-502: The centrist leader of the Awami League; while Maulana Bhashani represented more radical leftist factions. The Awami League was often allied with the centre-left Krishak Praja Party of A. K. Fazlul Huq. Suhrawardy's chief protégé in East Bengal was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , to whom Suhrawardy delegated political responsibilities. Suhrawardy was appointed law minister in 1953 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Bogra . He
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5040-643: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state
5160-587: The 'Great Calcutta Killings' after the Calcutta riots : " There is hardly a person in Calcutta who has a good word for Suhrawardy, respectable Muslims included. For years he has been known as "The king of the goondas" and my own private opinion is that he fully anticipated what was going to happen, and allowed it to work itself up, and probably organised the disturbance with his goonda gangs as this type of individual has to receive compensation every now and again. " According to Tathagata Roy , Suhrawardy had pre-planned
5280-534: The Awami League formed a coalition with Pakistan's Republican Party to unseat the previous government. Suhrawardy became the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan and the second premier under the 1956 Constitution of Pakistan . Suhrawardy was known as a pro- American politician. He also cultivated pragmatic ties with Communist China . Suhrawardy supported the American-led Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and
5400-1037: The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) to a decisive victory. The Muslim League's biggest success was in Bengal where out of 119 seats for Muslims, the BPML won 113. Suhrawardy was supported by the League's chief Muhammad Ali Jinnah to assume the premiership of Bengal. Suhrawardy's cabinet included himself as home minister; Mohammad Ali of Bogra as finance, health and local government minister; Syed Muazzemuddin Hossain as education minister; Ahmed Hossain as agriculture, forest and fisheries minister; Nagendra Nath Roy as judicial and legislative minister; Abul Fazal Muhammad Abdur Rahman as cooperatives and irrigation Minister; Abul Gofran as civil supplies minister; Tarak Nath Mukherjee as waterways minister; Fazlur Rahman as land minister; and Dwarka Nath Barury as works minister. Suhrawardy's tenure as premier saw
5520-917: The British government's plan to partition India's most populous province; he was supported by the Governor of Bengal Frederick Burrows , Sarat Chandra Bose of the Indian National Congress , Kiran Shankar Roy of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Satya Ranjan Bakshi, Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League Abul Hashim , Bengal Finance Minister Mohammad Ali Chaudhury, Bengal Revenue Minister Fazlur Rahman and Tippera politician Ashrafuddin Chowdhury. Suhrawardy stated
5640-531: The Calcutta Police). The version in the former's report was—"He [the Chief Minister] had seen to police and military arrangements who would not interfere". The version of the latter's was—"He had been able to restrain the military and the police". However, the police did not receive any specific order to "hold back". So, whatever Suhrawardy may have meant to convey by this, the impression of such
5760-620: The East Asian country was model to emulate in development. He addressed a joint sitting of the Philippines Congress during which he expressed support for SEATO and continued to call for decolonization. Suhrawardy's short-lived premiership came to an end when he resigned under pressure from President Iskander Mirza in 1957. Suhrawardy was arrested by the martial law government after the 1958 military coup in Pakistan . While in jail, he wrote to his niece Salma Sobhan on
5880-466: The Legislature respectively, excluding Europeans". The British government seriously considered of the option of an independent Bengal. British commercial interests in Bengal required safeguards. The United States was also briefed on the possibility of three countries emerging out of partition, including Pakistan, India, and Bengal. On 2 June 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee informed
6000-487: The Muslim League and its affiliate Volunteer Corps after listening to the speeches made by Khwaja Nazimuddin and Suhrawardy, in the city in order to enforce the declaration by the Muslim League that Muslims were to 'suspend all business' to support their demand for an independent Pakistan. However, supporters of the Muslim League believed that the Congress Party was behind the violence in an effort to weaken
6120-491: The One Unit for renaming East Bengal as East Pakistan, opposition among ethnic groups to the One Unit was stronger in West Pakistan . Suhrawardy's one-year tenure was unable to introduce the joint electorate. Since 1932, elections in Pakistan's provinces were held under the "separate electorate" system of dividing seats in parliament among religious groups in accordance with the colonial-era Communal Award . Abolishing
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#17327978714336240-787: The Prime Minister asked the British Army to intervene against hooligans even before that speech. Making use of recently disclosed or hitherto unused sources, he also revealed that Suhrawardy was at odds with Muslim League's radical fraction also after Noakhali riots; however, in some other cases of the Hindu-Muslim armed fights (primarily in Calcutta during Spring 1947) he did less to stop the acts of violence than he could, what made him - according to Flasiński - guilty by negligence. Suhrawardy died in Beirut , Lebanon in 1963 due to
6360-495: The Prime Minister. In this Ministry, the Prime Minister would be a Muslim and the Home Minister a Hindu. Pending the final emergence of a Legislature and a Ministry under the new constitutions, Hindus (including Scheduled Caste Hindus) and Muslims would have an equal share in the Services, including military and police. The Services would be manned by Bengalis. A Constituent Assembly composed of 30 persons, 16 Muslims and 14 non-Muslims, would be elected by Muslim and non-Muslim members of
6480-407: The United States and their cause , a policy that was pursued by the successive administrations. On 10 July 1957, Prime Minister Suhrawardy paid an official visit to the United States where he met with President Dwight Eisenhower . Suhrawardy accepted Eisenhower's request to lease a base in Pakistan from which the United States Air Force could gather intelligence about the Soviet Union . In return,
6600-421: The United States distributed $ 2.142 billion in aid to Pakistan, including supersonic F-104 Starfighters and M48 Patton tanks. Suhrawardy's party, the Awami League, split over his signing of the US-Pakistan military pact, with Maulana Bhasani leaving to form the National Awami Party (NAP). The 1960 U-2 incident severely compromised the national security of Pakistan when Soviet Union eventually discovered
6720-473: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder
6840-503: The acting of Kamal Haasan, crisp dialogues, art direction for recreating old times, symbolism but felt other characters speaking different languages gives an impression of watching a film from other language while also felt Kamal who slowly built up his character realistically went hurried with the character's change of heart and concluded saying this film will be enjoyed by urban audience but language will definitely be an issue in villages in spite of that, if this film wins, it will be good for
6960-408: The area. While trying to escape both Hindu and Muslim mobs, Amjad learns that Ram is in Delhi to assassinate Gandhi and he tries to convince him to not do it. He reveals that his father did not die of natural causes, but was murdered by a Hindu mob and asks Ram to end his hatred. Just then, they are cornered by a Hindu mob who try to kill Amjad. Despite Ram's attempts to protect him, Amjad is struck on
7080-428: The back of the head with a hammer and Ram takes him back to the soda factory. Together, they then help protect the Muslims hiding in the soda factory until the authorities arrive to control the situation, although Amjad is shot. While in the hospital, Amjad is questioned by a police officer about the Hindu man whom eyewitnesses state started the violence. Amjad lies that he has never seen that man before, and all he knows
7200-502: The base through interrogating its pilot . Prime Minister Suhrawardy was invited by the Soviet Union for an informal visit but he declined. In 1956, Prime Minister Suhrawardy became the Pakistan's first Prime Minister to visit China . Suhrawardy's India policy was at times critical. He demanded a fair share of water sharing on transboundary rivers. Suhrawardy visited Afghanistan and pledged to work for regional peace, decolonization and stability. Suhrawardy also visited Japan and felt
7320-471: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both
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#17327978714337440-495: The belief that Gandhi is solely responsible for the division of India and the violence between two religions, and believe him to be a traitor for supporting and protecting Muslims rather than his own Hindu people. As extremist Hindu fundamentalists, they plot to murder Gandhi and task Ram with performing the deed. Due to a horse-riding accident, Abhyankar is left quadriplegic and has Ram swear that he will renounce personal relationships and carry on his work of killing Gandhi. Back in
7560-403: The central government in New Delhi for the Bengal famine of 1943 during World War II , and claimed he worked tirelessly on relief. Viceroy Lord Wavell , however, believed that Suhrawardy was corrupt, that he "siphoned money from every project that was undertaken to ease the famine, and awarded to his associates contracts for warehousing, the sale of grain to governments, and transportation." On
7680-417: The communal character which it was to retain throughout. The meeting began around 2 pm though processions of Muslims from all parts of Calcutta had started assembling since the midday prayers . A large number of the participants were reported to have been armed with iron bars and lathis (bamboo sticks). The numbers attending were estimated by a Central Intelligence Officer's reporter at 30,000 and by
7800-429: The country and for the world of Tamil cinema. Deccan Herald wrote "Hey Ram is a film not to be missed. For though it`s too long and too simplistic it is part of us, and a landmark for every thinking Indian". The Hindi version of Hey Ram grossed ₹8.91 crore in India and $ 550,000 overseas. The Hindi version opened on 18 February 2000 across 115 screens and netted ₹2.39 crore in opening week and ₹5.32 crore lifetime. It
7920-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on
8040-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with
8160-444: The event of partition. Communal violence broke out across India, especially in the Punjab and Bengal's Noakhali district . Suhrawardy traveled to Noakhali with Mahatma Gandhi to restore order; Gandhi and Suhrawardy also had deliberations in Calcutta. After the transfer of power on 14–15 August 1947, Suhrawardy continued to remain in India for a few years where he attended to ailing members of his family. He eventually settled down in
8280-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of
8400-407: The film cost a total of ₹11 crore (worth ₹92 crore in 2021 prices), excluding Haasan's salary. In order to show Mohenjodaro of ancient times, the crew recreated a set at a village near Chennai as the original location was located at Pakistan which crew felt was impossible to go to due to political reasons. Initially Haasan chose L. Subramaniam to compose music for the film. Haasan completed shooting
8520-537: The film was screened at the 25th Toronto International Film Festival and at the 2000 Locarno Festival . In 1999, Saket Ram, an 89-year-old Hindu man, is on his death bed in Madras . He is being taken care of by his grandson Saket Ram Jr., a famous novelist who writes historical fiction, and their family doctor, Munawar. Saket Ram Jr explains how he grew up listening to his grandfather's stories and proceeds to narrate one of his grandfather's strange stories that he plans to use for his next novel. As his grandson narrates
8640-699: The film was screened at the 25th Toronto International Film Festival and at the 2000 Locarno Festival . In 2015, Hey Ram was screened at the Habitat Film Festival. The film was re-released at Sathyam Cinemas on 8 November 2019. There were protests and press releases by political parties in select centres against the perceived negative depiction of Gandhi. Hey Ram received critical acclaim. T. Krithika Reddy from The Hindu wrote, "Live sound, prosthetic make-up (Micheal Westmore), splendid cinematography (Thiru), magnificent art work (Sabu Cyril) and painstakingly designed costumes (Sarika) are some of
8760-419: The first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in 1913. His brother Hasan later recounted that "it is difficult now for me to recapture the elation and the ecstasy of those days, but I remember distinctly that look of awe which was in my landlady's eyes when she brought in the breakfast with the morning newspaper containing the scoop". Suhrawardy obtained further degrees, including a Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford and
8880-479: The first Pakistani premier to travel to Communist China . His pro-US foreign policy caused a split in the Awami League in East Pakistan, with Maulana Bhashani forming the break-away pro- Maoist National Awami Party . Suhrawardy's premiership lasted for a year. His central cabinet included figures like Sir Feroz Khan Noon as Foreign Minister and Abul Mansur Ahmad as Trade Minister. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
9000-456: The following:- Let us pause for a moment to consider what Bengal can be if it remains united. It will be a great country, indeed the richest and the most prosperous in India capable of giving to its people a high standard of living, where a great people will be able to rise to the fullest height of their stature, a land that will truly be plentiful. It will be rich in agriculture, rich in industry and commerce and in course of time it will be one of
9120-400: The fragile Muslim League government in Bengal, further generating the controversy about the real culprits. Historian Joya Chatterji allocates much of the responsibility to Suhrawardy, for setting up the confrontation and failing to stop the rioting, but points out that Hindu leaders were also culpable. A senior intelligence operative wrote to a senior British officer based at Fort William after
9240-652: The injured persons were Muslims, and the Muslim community had only retaliated in self-defence. The Special Branch of Calcutta Police had sent only one shorthand reporter to the meeting, with the result that no transcript of the Chief Minister's speech is available. But the Central Intelligence Officer and a reporter, who Frederick Burrows believed was reliable, deputed by the military authorities agree on one statement (not reported at all by
9360-583: The joint electorate was a key demand of the Awami League. At the National Assembly , the Awami League initiated constitutional reforms to restore the joint electorate system but faced opposition from the Muslim League . Suhrawardy established the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). He appointed Dr. Nazir Ahmad as its chairman. Suhrawardy supported the Atoms for Peace initiative. Suhrawardy also released funds to import
9480-695: The leader of the Bengali -dominated Awami League which became the principal opposition party to the Pakistan Muslim League . In 1956, the centre-left Awami League formed a coalition government with the military-backed Republican Party to unseat the Muslim League. Suhrawardy became Prime Minister in the coalition government. He forged stronger ties with the United States by leading Pakistan's diplomacy in SEATO and CENTO . He also became
9600-419: The leader, and attempts to confess the truth to him in order to beg for forgiveness. Gandhi interrupts him, informing Ram that they can talk about it during their long walk to Pakistan. However, seconds later, Gandhi is assassinated by Godse . Ram then attempts to shoot Godse, but is moved by how one person prevents the people from attacking Godse, who is arrested. Then on, Ram lives by Gandhian principles . As
9720-617: The mentor of Bangladesh's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . He is also remembered for his performance as the Minister for Civil Supply during the Bengal famine of 1943 . In India, he is seen as a controversial figure; directly responsible for the 1946 Calcutta Killings , for which he is often referred as the "Butcher of Bengal" in West Bengal . He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957 and before that as
9840-479: The military. His staunchly pro-Western foreign policy was opposed by Bengali radicals led by Maulana Bhashani who caused a split in the Awami League. However, Suhrawardy was elected as President of the Awami League. His cabinet included Feroz Khan Noon and Abul Mansur Ahmed among others. Initially promising to review the One Unit framework in the 1956 constitution, Prime Minister Suhrwardy later backtracked. At
9960-425: The mob, Ram reminisces about how he plotted to kill Gandhi many decades ago. Back in newly independent India, Ram begins to prepare to assassinate Gandhi once he returns to Madras. A pregnant Mythili becomes worried as her husband grows more distant and invites her parents and in-laws over to cheer him up. However, Ram has made up his mind to kill Gandhi and leaves Mythili, traveling to Varanasi where he goes through
10080-546: The occasion of her wedding to Rehman Sobhan , calling Salma "preternaturally transcendentally intelligent". Suhrawardy is often subjected to criticism by in India for failing to prevent the Direct Action Day riots. According to them, Suhrawardy and other Muslim League leaders reportedly delivered provocative speeches reminding the Bengali Muslims of the historical Islamic victory and urged them to follow
10200-633: The other hand, Indian author, Madhushree Mukherjee, laid major responsibility of this famine to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who wanted the ration for war efforts only and had refrained the U.S. aid to Bengal . Suhrawardy was further accused of practising a Scorched-Earth Policy to counter the Japanese Army 's advances in the East and supervised to burn thousand fishing boats to block any potential movement of invading Japanese Army troops. These measures aggravated starvation and famine and
10320-425: The other highlights of this magnum opus, which is distinct in style and content...The chemistry between Kamal and Rani is explosive to say the least. Shah Rukh Khan, as usual comes up with an impeccable performance. Vasundhara, as the stoic second wife makes an impressive debut. Naseerudin Shah as Gandhi steals a clear march over the others in supporting roles." Dinakaran wrote, "The starting of 2000 itself has given
10440-417: The period (barring Kaathala Kaathala ), much to the dismay of his fans. To please them, he sought to begin and finish another film before resuming work on Marudhanayagam , which became Hey Ram . Another motivation for Haasan to do the film was because, although he was born in a family of people devoted towards Mahatma Gandhi , he himself was not initially a devotee, and had a critical view of Gandhi even as
10560-676: The poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on
10680-532: The positions of President and Prime Minister rotated among Muslims and Christians. The five-point plan stated that "On the announcement by His Majesty's Government that the proposal of the Free State of Bengal had been accepted and that Bengal would not be partitioned, the present Bengal Ministry would be dissolved. A new interim Ministry would be brought into being, consisting of an equal number of Muslims and Hindus (including Scheduled Caste Hindus) but excluding
10800-567: The powerful and progressive states of the world. If Bengal remains united this will be no dream, no fantasy. On 20 May 1947, a five-point plan was outlined for a "Free State of Bengal", echoing the legacy of the name of the Irish Free State . The plan was based on a confessionalist structure with power-sharing between Hindus and Muslims. It mirrored some of the confessionalist practices adopted in French Lebanon in 1926, where
10920-554: The present, Ram's situation worsens. His grandson and Dr. Munawar take him to the hospital, but are stopped by the police since there are bomb blasts in Madras due to Hindu-Muslim communal riots, as the day is anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid , prompting the elderly Ram to remark how the Hindu-Muslim violence is still rampant in present day. A police officer makes them hide in an underground shelter for their safety. As they try to stay silent to avoid being attacked by
11040-556: The relief was only ordered when Lord Wavell became the Viceroy , using the Indian Army to organise relief. However, by that time, the winter crop had arrived and famine conditions had already eased, after millions had earlier perished. Calcutta's Hindu-owned newspapers had become very critical of his role and the Bengali Hindus held him directly responsible for the famine. During the 1946 general election , Suhrawardy led
11160-494: The riot long back, evident from the fact that demographic changes were being made in the Calcutta Police constabulary. Recently, Polish scholar Tomasz Flasiński expressed another opinion about Suhrawardy. His research proved, inter alia, that Suhrawardy's famous speech during the first day of Calcutta Riot urged Muslims to come back to their homes instead of (as it was often suggested) encouraging them to riot, and in fact
11280-518: The role. Hema Malini , who had reduced acting in films by then, accepted to act as Ambujam after being offered the role by Haasan. For the role of Ambujam's daughter Mythili, Haasan initially wanted Malini's daughter Esha Deol ; the role ultimately went to Vasundhara Das . It is her first major appearance in a Tamil film. Hassan's daughter Shruti made her acting debut portraying the role of Vallabhai Patel's daughter. Haasan initially considered having British actor Ben Kingsley , who portrayed Gandhi in
11400-580: The same way on 16 August. The historian Devendra Panigrahi, in his book India's Partition: The Story of Imperialism in Retreat , quotes from 13 August 1946 issue of Muslim League mouthpiece The Star of India , "Muslims must remember that ... it was in Ramazan that the permission for jehad was granted by Allah. It was in Ramazan that the Battle of Badr, the first open conflict between Islam and Heathenism,
11520-594: The situation on the streets starts to cool down, Ram whispers his last words to his grandson and eventually dies. During Ram's funeral, Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi comes over and visits Ram Jr's private room, which is full of historical photos. Ram Jr hands over Gandhi's footwear and spectacles which his grandfather had previously collected from the place of the shootout and had treasured throughout his life. Kamal Haasan had spent all of 1998 on filming Marudhanayagam , which ended up in production hell due to lack of funds, and did not act in any other film during
11640-474: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of
11760-431: The songs and re-shoot them with Ilaiyaraaja's. On hearing that, Ilaiyaraaja told Haasan that he could fix it without Haasan needing to re-shoot any footage or songs; Haasan agreed after initial reluctance. Subramaniam said he left the project, fearing that his association with the film may offend Hindu people due to its contentious storyline. The lyrics for the songs were not changed, but Ilaiyaraaja composed new tunes for
11880-510: The songs that would be in sync with the already shot footage. The background music and the songs were recorded in Hungary's Budapest Symphony Orchestra and thus Hey Ram became the first Tamil film and the second Indian film to be re-recorded with a foreign symphony orchestra. The first one was Ilaiyaraaja's own score for the Malayalam film Guru (1997). The song "Isaiyil Thodangudhamma"
12000-404: The stock exchange met with President Mirza to address their concerns and issues. Suhrawardy in 1957 described Pakistan's foreign policy as "friendship towards all and malice towards none", a phrase which was later adopted as Bangladesh's foreign policy. Suhrawardy is also considered to be one of the pioneers of Pakistan's foreign policy aimed, directed, and set towards excessively supporting
12120-669: The story, the older Saket Ram relives it. In 1946, Ram and his Pathan Muslim friend, Amjad Ali Khan are archaeologists working together under Mortimer Wheeler , in Mohenjo-daro in the Sindh province, in what was then North-West India. Relations are good between the Indians and the English. Ram and Amjad do not approve of the planned partition and the upcoming creation of Pakistan . Although many Indian Muslims plan to move to Pakistan, Amjad decides to stay in India as he believes it
12240-426: The whole film along with the song sequences that were composed by Subramaniam. According to Haasan, when he approached Subramaniam for the final sound for mixing, he had asked for ₹1 crore, which was not the amount agreed upon earlier. So Haasan went to Ilaiyaraaja to help him solve this situation. Haasan told Ilaiyaraaja that the songs had already been shot with the music composed by Subramaniam and he wanted to remove
12360-627: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which
12480-456: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( Bengali : হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্রাওয়ার্দী ; Urdu : حسین شہید سہروردی ; 8 September 1892 – 5 December 1963) was a Pakistani Bengali barrister and politician. In Bangladesh , Suhrawardy is remembered as a pioneer of Bengali civil rights movements, later turned into Bangladesh independence movement, and
12600-413: Was 13 years old when witnessing Gandhi's assassination, accepted Haasan's request to play Amjad Ali Khan's mother Haajra. Principal photography began on 22 March 1999. The then Shankaracharya of Kanchi had filmed an interview scene for the film but later requested that his portions be removed to avoid controversy. To achieve on-site dubbing of dialogues, Haasan hired Srivastav from Mumbai. Production of
12720-528: Was a judge of the high court in Bengal. Suhrawardy studied law in Oxford . After returning to India, he joined the Indian independence movement during the 1920s as a trade union leader in Calcutta . He was initially associated with the Swaraj Party . He joined the All-India Muslim League and became one of the leaders of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML). Suhrawardy was elected to
12840-713: Was a social worker and activist in Pakistan; his son, Rashid Suhrawardy , from his second marriage to Vera Alexandrovna Tiscenko Calder ; was a British Bangladeshi actor known for his role in the film Jinnah . His brother Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy was a diplomat, writer and art-critic. Many places in South Asia bear his name, including an avenue in Islamabad ; a large park near his mausoleum in Dhaka; and streets, dormitories and memorials across Bangladesh. The Suhrawardy family home in modern-day Kolkata has been leased as
12960-553: Was cast as a Sindhi character Lalwani after Haasan was impressed with his performance in Satya (1998). Girish Karnad , who portrayed Saket Ram's father-in-law Uppili Iyengar, recommended Sharad Ponkshe , who portrayed Godse in the Marathi play Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy , to Haasan for reprising his role in the film. Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar wanted to join the film, and Haasan accepted; Tushar plays himself. Mohini Mathur, who
13080-442: Was considered Suhrawardy's chief political protégé. Suhrawardy was premier under Pakistan's first republican constitution which ended dominion status and the monarchy of Queen Elizabeth . During the 1958 military coup , Suhrawardy was arrested by the martial law government. He missed the wedding of his niece, Salma Sobhan (Pakistan's first woman barrister), because of his detention. In 1963, Suhrawardy died in Beirut due to
13200-571: Was covered by aid grants or loans. The central government led by Suhrawardy focused on the implementation of the planned economy. His relations with the stock exchange and the business community deteriorated when he announced distribution of the US$ 10 million ICA aid between West and East, and establishing the shipping corporation at the expense of West Pakistan's revenues. Massive labour strikes broke out in West Pakistan against his economic policy in major cities of Pakistan. Eventually leaders of
13320-565: Was excitement throughout the city, that shops were being forced to close, and that there were many reports of brawls, stabbing and throwing of stones and brickbats. These were mainly concentrated in the North-central parts of the city like Rajabazar, Kelabagan, College Street, Harrison Road, Colootolla and Burrabazar. In these areas the Hindus were in a majority and were also in a superior and powerful economic position. The trouble had assumed
13440-534: Was fought and won by 313 Muslims and again it was in Ramazan that 10,000 Muslims under the Holy Prophet conquered Mecca and established the kingdom of Heaven and the commonwealth of Islam in Arabia. The Muslim League is fortunate that it is starting its action in this holy month". On 16 August 1946, the massive bloody riots erupted in Calcutta , killings scores of Hindus at the hands of rioters. However, there
13560-527: Was imposed in the parts of the city where there had been rioting. At 8 pm forces were deployed to secure main routes and conduct patrols from those arteries, thereby freeing up police for work in the slums and the other underdeveloped sections. In New Delhi on 27 April 1947, Suhrawardy called a press conference to demand an undivided, independent Bengal . Suhrawardy made an impassioned plea for setting aside religious differences in order to create an "independent, undivided, and sovereign Bengal". He opposed
13680-549: Was in charge of drafting Pakistan's constitution. One of the highlights of Suhrawardy's political career was leading the United Front campaign during the 1954 East Bengali election which booted the Muslim League out of power. At the federal level, Suhrawardy served as Leader of the Opposition in the parliament of Pakistan in 1955. His position was bolstered by the landslide victory in East Bengal in 1954. In 1956,
13800-461: Was not present initially, but Ilaiyaraaja had seen an opportunity for a possible song in the scene and asked Haasan to give him a chance to add one. But Haasan, being the writer-director of the film, did not see it. Then Ilaiyaraaja convinced Haasan to trust him with this and brought Hindustani singer Ajoy Chakrabarty to sing "Isaiyil Thodanguthamma" and also writing the lyrics for the same. Chennai Online wrote, "The album, with its rich acoustic score,
13920-664: Was one of South Asia's pioneering women in public service. His first wife was Begum Niaz Fatima, the daughter of Justice Sir Abdur Rahim , a member of the Governor's Executive Council and Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly . Begum Niaz Fatima died in 1922. His second wife was Begum Veera Suhrawardy , a Russian actress of Polish descent. A young Huseyn studied in Calcutta Madrasa and attended St. Xavier's College, Kolkata where he earned
14040-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of
14160-535: Was strongly opposed by the Congress Party . In 1947, the Bengal Assembly voted to partition the territory. Suhrawardy briefly remained in India after partition to attend to his ailing father and manage his family's property. He eventually moved to Pakistan and divided his time between Karachi (Pakistan's federal capital) and Dhaka (capital of East Pakistan ). In Dhaka, Suhrawardy emerged as
14280-613: Was the 35th-highest-grossing film of 2000 in India. At the overseas box office, the Hindi version grossed $ 350,000 in opening week and $ 550,000 lifetime. Epic film Epic historical films would usually take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from
14400-556: Was the company's first film to be shot simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi. The dialogues for the Hindi version were written by Manohar Shyam Joshi . Cinematography was handled by Tirru , and editing by Renu Saluja . Haasan chose the Hindi actor Shah Rukh Khan to portray the Pathan character Amjad Ali Khan, partly because the actor's father was a Pathan who was from Peshawar . Though not
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