Freedom fighter Gour Hari Das’ run for recognition for about three decades did not go in vain. Director Anant Mahadevan maps his journey through actor Vinay Pathak
Seven decades ago a certain Gour Hari Das fought a battle against the British Raj. He was one of the Vanar Sena who carried covert messages from one nationalist to another. He rejoiced when India got independence but little did he know that his battles were far from over. Years later he was fighting another battle. One that took him to 321 doors, up 66,000 steps, 1,043 letters and 32years to emerge victorious from. After so many decades of struggle, Das was finally acknowledged as a freedom fighter.
It is this story of struggle, patience and humility that touched actor-filmmaker Anant Mahadevan. After reading about Das in the papers he decided to pay his tribute to him with a movie. That was when Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File was conceptualised.
The movie hit the theatres yesterday and the director told us why he chose Das’ struggle amidst the few freedom fighters who are still aliive. He said, “There are very few incidences when we meet a person who is alive, who is a very big personality and at the same time, a very simple and honest man in actual life. His fight was first for the country and then he fought against the same country for freedom. This is a very strange situation and this type of a biopic has never come on screen from which we get to learn so much.”
Mahadevan pointed that it is in the hands of everyone to preserve history. As a filmmaker he had the opportunity to document the extraordinary life of an ordinary man, and he took advantage of it. “Cinema is a very good way of documentation and I have touched upon the life of Das and portrayed it in a way it should should have been,” said the ace filmmaker.
When asked about the takeaway from the film, the director said that the core philosophy of the man is the greatest lesson. “His struggles teach us that one can live life on their own terms. They do not have to bend or cahnge for anyone. And the most important lesson is that of retaining your patience even in times of adversity,” the director said.
A simple and an ordinary man” is how actor Vinay Pathak describes real-life freedom fighter Gour Hari Das, whom he portrays in the recently released film Gour Hari Dastaan. Calling it an emotional and a different experience, he says it is something that one needs to go through themselves. “You learn a lesson best when you see it for yourself or you experience it personally. I learnt the values of patience and humility during my interactions with Das. Not only did it reflect beautifully in the film but I have noticed the change the values have brought in my life. Here we see a freedom fighter fighting for his personal freedom way after the independence,” the actor best-known for his role in Bheja Fry, Khosla Ka Ghosla shared.
Ask him what appealed to him after his time spent with Das and he tells us, “Simple and ordinary man to say the least which is inspiring because he does not aspire to be anyone else. He is diligent and that is how he has lived his life”.
The story of unsung hero Das’ struggle of three decades to gain the status of a freedom fighter is the “story of today.” “It is very relevant. It’s the story of somebody like him who had to struggle and he moved from court to court but never lost patience. He is not sour at all; he is a pleasant man. I won’t mind possessing qualities like he does,” says Pathak. In order to go though a reel-life struggle by getting into Das’ character, Pathak had to shave his head everyday and a “little bit of make-up to show the wrinkles”. Director Mahadevan also made the actor learn how to weave cloth and that, too, from Odia freedom fighter Gour Hari Das himself.
Working with Mahadevan “was nice”, shares Pathak. “He has been an actor himself. He gives us the space which is like a playground where we actors need to play. He gave us that freedom,” he tells us.