‘Rangoon’, World War II and Netaji’s Friendship With Hitler

Back in the 1940’s, who was a true Indian and who was an anti-national?

The movie Rangoon is shot in the then Rangoon or Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, or what was once called Burma. (Photo: The Quint)

Rangoon is out, but before you thrust yourself into the desi thrills of this ambitious period film, here's a quick round-up of the time period it is set in. The movie, set in 1943, is right at the centre of chaos of the World War II, when Hitler was wreaking havoc all over Europe.

The movie is shot in Rangoon or Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, or what was once called Burma.

As the British, one of the major Allied powers, fought the Germans, the Indian sepoys in the British Imperial army were inevitably pulled into the foray.

On the other hand, some Indian “rebels” decided to not fight for their Imperial masters, and instead, formed the Indian National Army (INA or Azad Hind Fauj) led by Subhash Chandra Bose.

If you were in INA, were you a patriot, even if it meant that you were also in Hitler's team? Or did true patriotism lie in fighting for the British? In such a context – who was a “true Indian”, a patriot, and who was an “anti-national”?

While Rangoon is about a love triangle between Saif, Shahid and Kangana – there is another triangle in the background – one of the British, the British Indian Army and Bose’ Indian National Army. War, like love, is not simply about clear-cut black-and-white territories. However, is all really fair in love and war?

Graphics and Video Editor: Kunal Mehra