BOTTOM LINE
History Lesson Lacks Impact
RATING
2/5
PLATFORM
SonyLIV – 6 Episodes – 5 hours and 15 minutes
What Is the Film About?
The unrest surrounding the oppressive Rowlatt Act culminates in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. London-educated advocate Kantilal Sahni, witnessing the carnage, loses his childhood friends Hari and Allahbaksh amidst the political chaos. Haunted by their deaths, Sahni exposes the systemic injustice of the British Raj that facilitated the massacre, while leading the Hunter Commission inquiry.
Performances
Taaruk Raina, popular for his lighter roles, makes a welcome departure from his strengths, in a heavy role packed with old-fashioned drama – an arena he’s not fully comfortable with, though he delivers a sincere performance. Sahil Mehta, as the angsty journalist with firm opinions, is at ease with his portrayal and is helped by his strong screen presence.
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Analysis
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Revered filmmaker Ram Madhvani, who crafted a fictional narrative around the circumstances leading to the partition in his 2017 short, This Bloody Line (commemorating 70 years of independence), returns to another pivotal episode of the freedom struggle with Sony LIV’s The Waking of a Nation. This series is conceived as an ode to the hundreds who perished in Jallianwala Bagh in 1919.
Utilising the Hunter Commission inquiry (established to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre) as a hook, the tragic episode is brought to life through the story of three friends—Kantilal Sahni, Hari, and Allahbaksh—each holding contrasting views on freedom and colonisation. The narrative unfolds as a courtroom drama, transitioning between the inquiry and the events that triggered the barbaric attack.
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The premise is undeniably compelling: The Waking of a Nation employs a fictional narrative to explore the multifaceted dimensions of a historical event, examining the conflicting perspectives of the colonisers and the colonised. The film rightly portrays the massacre in a complex and nuanced manner, using the courtroom setting to shed light on the trauma endured by the victims’ families.
Kantilal Sahni is a fine character to tell this uneasy story. He is a man caught between being a British sympathiser and a citizen who wants to stand up for his brethren. Refreshingly, the British are not merely portrayed as blood-sucking villains. Many officers within their ranks are unhappy with the growing resentment among Indians and believe they could do better than instigating conflict through religious division.
The historicity surrounding the incident—capturing the communal tension in Amritsar, the anger around the Rowlatt Act, the circumstances under which popular leaders Satya and Kitchlew were arrested, and the infamous civil lines attacks (creating fear among British residents)—is established with appreciable earnestness. There’s a focus on the ‘white man’s burden’ of civilising the natives, who are depicted as lacking basic social graces.
However, the show is proof that fact-checks and thorough research alone are not enough to capture a viewer’s interest. The Waking of a Nation makes the same mistake as scores of patriotic films/shows around the partition: becoming too attached to the subject and failing to arouse adequate emotion of the times. Additionally, courtroom dramas run the risk of being too verbose. The extensive exchanges in the court, lost amidst a sea of flashbacks across different timelines, leave you exhausted.
The storytelling is redundant and too basic for a filmmaker as accomplished as Ram Madhvani—it is perennially in sympathiser mode, hammering the same point and struggling to create strong drama out of potent situations. The stories of the victims keep changing, but the effect is nevertheless the same on the viewer, and you stop feeling for the proceedings after a while. More effort could’ve gone into conveying General Dyer’s side of the story (although the ‘vengeance’ is clearly hinted).
Like the climax—where Sahni outsmarts the Britishers and gets the governor to confess his role in the massacre—the series needed more moments where there was genuine vigour in the execution. In most occasions, The Waking of a Nation becomes a history teacher who doesn’t know how to captivate his students. While the show is rich in information, it is too preoccupied with the material to be engaging.
Performances by Others Actors
Bhawsheel Singh Sahni exhibits an unspoken grace in his performance that makes a good impact. While the acting standards are strictly okay on the whole – the likes of Nikita Dutta, Paul McEwan, Carl Wharton, Alex Reece and Raymond Bethley do their best within the scope of their roles and the writing of the show.
Music and Other Departments?
Sameer Uddin’s music tries to provide a rootedness to the ambience with the folk influences, though it doesn’t create the intended impact. Kavya Sharma’s cinematography is generally effective, while the inconsistent colour-grading across flashbacks creates unnecessary confusion and doesn’t let the story progress seamlessly. Abhimanyu Chaudhary’s editing is slightly choppy – for it never quite allows the viewer to soak in the show’s world. The dialogue-writing is another area that could’ve provided greater impetus to the series.
Highlights?
Good premise
Well-researched
Engaging in parts
Drawbacks?
Lacks strong drama
Devoid of emotion, too fact-heavy
Inconsistent storytelling
Did I Enjoy It?
Only in parts
Will You Recommend It?
Only if you’re a history enthusiast and willing to overlook its follies
The Waking Of A Nation Series Review by M9
