Here are the reasons that will compel you to watch the movie:-
1) Out of this League storyline
Usually, patriotic and historical dramas are heavy that it brings in boredom to the audiences as there is hardly the spirit of Investigation and curiosity in such movie. But Tashkent file is totally different from the usual movies in which Vivek Agnihotri ensure that the drama revolves around the mysterious death of second prime minister of India Mr Lal Bahadur Shastri.
The film starts with an exploration of the life of this hero who became a well-known leader worldwide owing to his outspoken views and attitude. It was during his reign India defeated Pakistan in war and thereafter he travelled to Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent for signing the peace treaty. Later there he was found dead in his hotel room. Although his family demanded post-mortem, the same was not conducted and Mrs Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India immediately after his death.
This series emphasises on Shastri’s role in leading India to win the war against Pakistan, setting in motion the White and Green Revolution, bringing back Indians from troubled Burma and signing the Treaty in Ceylon regarding the citizenship of Indian workers there.
But as most of the Indian are aware of, his role was reduced to the man who gave India the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan’.
In the film, it has been emphasised that India gained not only one national leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on 2nd October but also Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose contribution is almost unsung.
2) Knowing the mystery behind Shastri’s death
Those who are interested in knowing the mystery behind Shastri’s sudden death, change of his hotel right before his death, change of his cook on the night of his death, his face turning blue after death and the mysterious bleeding wounds on his body, why the postmortem was denied to the ex-Prime Minister who was founded dead in the suspicious conditions in the foreign land and also why his family was not allowed to see his mortal remains for hours even after his arrival in India and above all who was responsible for killing the great leader should watch the movie premier for sure.
The Tashkent file tries to find out answers to all these questions and many more.
3) Revealing the true identities
The film tries to draw India’s geopolitical situation during the cold war. There has been an attempt in the movie to figure out the possibilities of involvement of international powers and the secretive agencies who had interest in Shastri death. The movie dug deeper into spy files, the Mitrokhin archives. These are the handwritten notes of Russian KGB agent Vasili Mitrokhin who has tried exposing enemies of Mr Shastri. The movie shows how easy it was then to bribe and attract Indian bureaucrats, judges, socialist and other influencers for getting the work done.
4) Brilliant star cast
The star cast in the movie is excellent where Shweta Basu Prasad plays a powerful protagonist as a young journalist who is very keen on exploring the past. She tries to investigate the Prime Minister’s death. Veteran actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Mithun Chakrabarty, Pankaj Tripathi, and Pallavi Joshi are playing their characters brilliantly in the movie. These and a lot more reasons together make it a must-watch for Indian history lovers and for those who like to watch movies based on real-life incidents.
5) Exploring the unknown
The film is surely into exploring the role of Gandhi Family in shaping India, we live in today. It also focuses on emergency imposed by Mrs Indira Gandhi the then Prime Minister. Also, it screens debatable ties of Gandhi with KGB.
Even if you are not a die-hard fan of exploring the political history of India, you should watch the movie as you will learn about Indian politics after watching it. Make your Independence Day s this time by having a close encounter with Indian political heritage.
