Greenfield, S. and Robson, P. 2025. Fact, Fiction, and Fame: Mangal Pandey: The Rising. in: Dubin, A., Goswami, R. and Sharma, I. (ed.) Indian Cinema and Human Rights: An Intersectional Tale Springer. pp. 245-260
| Chapter title | Fact, Fiction, and Fame: Mangal Pandey: The Rising |
|---|---|
| Authors | Greenfield, S. |
| Robson, P. | |
| Editors | Dubin, A. |
| Goswami, R. | |
| Sharma, I. | |
| Abstract | Mangal Pandey: The Rising offers a dramatic, and very entertaining, interpretation of the role of Mangal Pandey in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, an important historical event that has been described as India’s First War of Independence. The critically acclaimed film attracted controversy from two quarters. First, it was historically inaccurate and “invented” incidents and relationships thus distorting history. Second, in places, it impugned the virtuous character of Mangal Pandey himself. Specifically, his descendants claimed, in a High Court action, that depicting him in a relationship with a sex worker and engaging in consuming “bhang” were defamatory. The film undoubtedly raised the profile of Pandey who before the film and its publicity was previously a little-known figure and thrust his role back into the political spotlight. The court determined such portrayals could not amount to defamation given Pandey was deceased. The film raises several interesting human rights issues both in terms of content and the subsequent furore and attempts to have the film edited and even banned. The cause of the rebellion was based on the religious convictions of both Hindu and Muslim Sepoys who objected to the use of beef and pig fat as grease for the gun cartridges supplied by the East India Company. The soldiers were subsequently misled by senior officers who knew the truth. The decision to use animal products was purely economic and ignored the religious rights of the Sepoys. There are other significant human rights issues portrayed such as the buying and selling of slaves and the attempt to burn a widow, the practice of Sita. The modern human rights issues relate to freedom of expression in terms of creativity and performance. |
| Book title | Indian Cinema and Human Rights: An Intersectional Tale |
| Page range | 245-260 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Publication dates | |
| Published in print | 2025 |
| Published online | 27 Nov 2024 |
| ISBN | 9789819760275 |
| 9789819760282 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-6028-2_13 |