Actor Vicky Kaushal is no stranger to biopics or military-themed movies. The 35-year-old actor is known for roles in movies such as Uri: The Surgical Strike, Sardar Udham and Raazi. His dialogue delivery in the 2019 movie Uri: The Surgical Strike made the dialogue — ‘How’s the Josh?’ — an iconic one-liner.
As the talented actor plays one of the most important roles of his life in Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur, it would be interesting to watch if he has been able to emulate the legendary wit of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
Field Marshal Manekshaw, who crafted India’s greatest military victory in the 1971 India-Pakistan war that created the nation of Bangladesh, was known equally for his sense of humour as his bravery and strategy.
Once on a visit to his unit as Commanding Officer, he reportedly asked what action was taken against a man who contracted venereal disease and when he was told the man’s head was shaved off, he roared: “Shaved off? Dammit. he didn’t do it with his head.”
In 1961, his outspoken frankness got him into trouble with Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon and his protégé at the time, Lt Gen BM Kaul. According to reports, he refused to toe Menon’s line and was sidelined.
Manekshaw was vindicated soon after when the Indian Army suffered a humiliating defeat in North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh, the next year, at the hands of the Chinese that led to Menon’s resignation.
Then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushed Manekshaw to NEFA to command the retreating Indian forces. This had an electrifying effect on the demoralised officers.
In no time, Manekshaw convinced the troops that the Chinese soldier was not “10 feet tall”. His first order of the day said: “There will be no withdrawal without written orders and these orders shall never be issued.”
The Manekshaw-Indira Equation
According to a 2008 report by the Press Trust of India, just before the Bangladesh operations in December 1971, then prime minister Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw, who was the Army Chief then, “General are you ready?”. The latter is said to have replied: “I am always ready, sweetie”. The report said Indira was “not unpleased, nor offended”.
On another occasion, the report said, Indira asked him whether he was planning to take over the country. Pointing to his long nose, the General replied: “I don’t use it to poke into other’s affairs.”
In Sam Bahadur, Fatima Sana Shaikh plays Indira Gandhi.
With PTI inputs
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