Swatantrya Veer Savarkar

<p>The film narrates the life of , beginning with the backdrop of the , which claims his father’s life. Angered by injustices, Vinayak becomes a revolutionary, inspired by figures like and . He founds the secret society and later joins Indian revolutionaries in London at the . Vinayak completes his thesis on the 1857 War of Independence, and secretly dispatches weapons to India. He meets but finds their approaches different. As India witnesses various revolutionary acts, the Savarkar brothers—Vinayak and —are arrested, and imprisonend in the infamous in Andaman. In prison, the Savarkar brothers face brutal treatment, including solitary confinement and physical abuse. Despite hardships, Vinayak continues his struggle, advocating for better conditions for political prisoners. After years of imprisonment, Vinayak is released but faces restrictions. He coins the term and continues his activism, challenging casteism and advocating for a united India. He refuses to support Gandhi’s . Fearing partition, he urges Hindus to prepare for military defence. As India moves towards independence, the film delves on the , the , and . The movie concludes in 1950 with Savarkar being imprisoned due to concerns over a potential bomb blast during Pakistani Prime Minister ‘s visit to India. Randeep Hooda took over directing the film from , who quit the project citing differences with Randeep over the script and inclusion of irrelevant historical figures and events. The music of the film is composed by , and Sambata while the background score is composed by and . The film was theatrically released on 22 March 2024 in Hindi, along with dubbed version. The home video rights were retained by ZEE Entertainment for their own streaming platform . The film was premiered on ZEE5 from 28 May 2024 to mark the 141st birthday of . , a comic book was released along with the film by . The comic character Little Chanakya discusses Savarkar’s life story covering his participation in the , imprisonment in , social activism, and role in the . The movie earned ₹11.37 nett crore in India its first week. In second week, the movie earned ₹6.34 nett crore. As of 14 April 2024, the film has a worldwide gross of . On the website , 14% of 7 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10. The film got mixed response from critics. While some praised the film and Randeep Hooda’s performances, others called it hagiographic. Catherine Bray of gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, “It all adds up to a funny mixture of hagiography and limp film-making, albeit built around a fine central performance.” Anuj Kumar of wrote “The film attempts to uplift Savarkar in the popular imagination by vilifying Gandhi through a stylistically mounted and carefully crafted narrative.” In the review for , gave a rating of 2/5 and described the movie as “stridently one-sided, and, ultimately, reductive.” Rohit Bhatnagar of gave a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote “Randeep’s film is a slow burner and it drains you with facts and figures but it is a well-intended project that might strictly excite and appeal history lovers.” The review finds the movie to be “bothersome” and to have distorted historical realities. Sana Farzeen of rated 2 out of 5 stars and added that ” turned out to be a shallow attempt. It can be only passed off as a very long, often one-sided history lesson on the ‘neglected’ freedom fighter.” Monika Rawal Kukreja of writes in her review that the film “ends up being a one-sided narrative that’s not bothered about presenting a balanced outlook about the contributions made towards India’s struggle for freedom. Prateek Sur of the gave 2.5/5 stars and stated that, “‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’ is a wasted effort to be honest. The performances of the other characters could have been lifted and given much more weightage than it currently got. Not to forget that its already too long and yet you feel that there are many angles that have been missed out. So, a possibility of having the film releasing two parts or probably as a web series would have been better.” Nandini Ramnath of says in her review, “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar arrives as election season is starting off, making it high-value, slickly produced propaganda. Savarkar’s heavily simplified Hindutva beliefs link the film most immediately to the present. Savarkar speaks of the legitimacy of the “pain of a majority” that has been oppressed for centuries.” She adds, “When , shown in the movie as a Hindu Mahasabha member, guns down Gandhi, Savarkar is remorseful. It’s the only moment of weakness in a narrative that proudly owns its ideological stance.” On the other side of the line, called it, “A polarising but powerful biopic that vindicates Savarkar,” and rated it 3.5 out of 5. Rishil Jogani of rated the film 4/5 and opined that “The life decisions of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar can have polarising views, but not the film, that can be classified as ‘peak cinema’. While one can’t claim authenticity of everything shown in the film, this interpretation of Savarkar’s life by Randeep Hooda and the team of Swatantrya Veer Savarkar makes for great, engaging cinema.” rated it 3 out 5 and stated, “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar movie review: Randeep Hooda packs an impeccable punch in this hard-hitting & eye-opening biographical drama.” Dishya Sharma of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “In a sea of patriotic films that Bollywood has been releasing in recent years, is among the better ones. The production value of the film and the performances keep you seated through the three-hour watch. I wish it was edited well, for there were a few scenes that could have been done away with. This would have given the film a lasting impact.” in its review comments, “Randeep Hooda goes into the detailing of the story and makes sure to showcase the tiniest events of Savarkar’s life.” It went on to rate the film 3 out of 5.</p>