Anyone who has worked with filmmaker Ram Madhvani says that his way of working is different from other filmmakers. From workshops to shooting 360 degree-style, from no lighting to no make-up, it’s all an experience, say his actors. With The Waking of a Nation, the National Award-winning director tells the story of the Hunter Commission, which investigated the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that claimed the lives of many and left over a 1,000 injured. The black day in the history of India’s independence is marked with several conspiracies. In conversation with mid-day, Madhvani breaks down creating the six-episode series, exploring themes of racism and colonialism, and the research involved in making the period drama.
Edited excerpts from the interview.
What made you pick the subject of the Hunter Commission?
I’m interested in what happened to us over the last 250 years, particularly pre-independence and how India became India during the British Raj. I’m interested in that part of our lives when we got culturally colonised, from our language to clothing to food habits. The Hunter Commission is the investigation into the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and the fact that the investigation is a conspiracy. It was pre-planned. [We were] interested in why it was pre-planned. Why did they do this to us? Everybody thinks that General Dyer [Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer] [was responsible] for the massacre. But our series says there was a bigger master plan. So, it’s really about colonialism, racism, prejudice, and the colour of your skin.
Ram Madhvani
Has there been an extensive discussion on the Hunter Commission?
If you search on YouTube or Google, there is a lot of information on it. There are 500 pages of the Punjab Disorders Committee, which is also known as the Hunter Commission. People should Google a man called Hans Raj, who was part of the conspiracy. If people can look up for it before they see the show, they will begin to learn more as to what happened.
Do you feel history is somehow distorted for the larger audience who rely on what’s taught to them in schools and colleges?
Winston Churchill said that history is written by the people who won. Therefore, a lot of it is following a certain narrative. So, we are sometimes fed a narrative that has been chosen to be fed. In this case, there was a narrative where General Dyer became the fall guy. Of course, he went out there and did what he did, but it was not just him.
(Right) Bhawsheel Singh as Hari Singh Aulakh
What did your research entail?
We’ve researched everything that is in the public domain. We looked at archival footage, [material] at various archives in London, Amritsar, and Mumbai. My co-writers Shantanu Shivastava and Shatrujeet Nath, and researcher Meghna Talwar were involved in the [decision-making]. Everything has been thoroughly documented. We have taken the liberties to [include] the story of four friends; that is the fictional part of the show. Of course, there are some characters based on truth like General Dyer and Michael O’Dwyer.
What was the idea behind telling the tale of four friends in a larger story of independence?
It was to showcase the youth caught up in the circumstances of their time and to see what really happened to those who were barely 25 or 28 years old, including [soldiers] who’ve just come back from World War I, it was then called the Great World War. We had so many of our people fighting on Britain’s behalf. [We’ve told] a lot of personal stories because eventually that’s what people are interested in. [It was] to give it that emotional and soulful connection.
Sahil Mehta as Ali Allahbaksh
Do you think telling stories of the youth makes it more relatable to the current generation?
Clearly. I want to reach out to the youth. Whatever [the characters] are going through in terms of their problems, conversations and circumstances, it’s all relatable. I’m commenting on what happened in 1919, on the empire and on colonialism. That’s what the show is about. If The Waking of a Nation is a success, I’d like for it to continue to explore how India became India. I had also made a short film on the partition; it’s something I’m emotionally moved by. I hope there is a next chapter so that I can continue speaking about what happened to us.
Did you face any restrictions when you were making this?
The problems were the same that you would face normally on a shoot. It always rains on my shoots. If there is a place in Rajasthan that has not had rain, just send me there with a film crew and it will rain [laughs]. We were shooting in the town hall, production designer Meghna Gandhi and our EPs put mud and dust everywhere [for the] two-day shoot, and of course, it rained. We had to delay the shoot by a day. In terms of research, we’ve tried to get our period correct with the costumes. We’ve tried to be accurate with locations.
How did you find your characters in Taaruk Raina and Nikita Dutta?
I do a lot of auditioning. Abhimanyu Ray is our casting director. I wanted people who are of the right age, and who were hungry to work with me as per my system. I do long takes. I tested Taaruk, who has been incredible. Sahil [Mehta], Nikita and Bhawsheel Singh Sahni just gave themselves [to the story]. Their camaraderie fit the roles well. We must have tested about 100 to 200 people before we got down to these four.
What was the brief for Taaruk’s character?
Taaruk’s character was very clear to me. He is a man who goes from a suit to a dhoti, from being innocent to mature. He goes from being somebody who thinks that the British are fair to understanding what is happening to us. So, he becomes rooted and Indian.