Vicky Kaushal to essay Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in Meghna Gulzar directed biopic ‘Sam’

Looks like Vicky Kaushal is choosing his projects carefully and really well. In an official confirmation, as tweeted by famous film trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Vicky Kaushal is all set to bring the charismatic life of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, one of the greatest warriors to be ever born on Indian soil, to life on the silver screen. Directed by ‘Raazi’ and ‘Talvar’ fame Meghna Gulzar, the biopic shall be titled ‘Sam’, and the work will begin right after ‘Chappaak’, based on the acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, is wrapped up.

Acknowledging the huge honor bestowed on him, an ecstatic Vicky announced this on his Twitter timeline –

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was born on 3 April 1914 to Hormusji Manekshaw and Hilla Manekshaw. Mischievous, rebellious and straightforward from the beginning, Sam wanted to become a doctor like his father. However, he was refused on the grounds that he was too young.

A couple of years later, when on the recommendations of the Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, the iconic Indian Military Academy was established, in an act of rebellion, Sam Manekshaw enrolled himself into the same. He was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant into the British Indian Army on 1 February 1935 with an antedate seniority w.e.f. 4 February 1934. Out of the 40 aspirants who had taken admission, 22 had managed to complete the course, and Sam Manekshaw was one of those illustrious 22 cadets.

Since then, Sam Manekshaw has never looked back. He has been a veteran of many skirmishes, be it World War II, or the Indo Pak War on Kashmir [1947-49], or the Indo China War of 1962, or even the Indo China clashes in Nathu La and Cho La. He was even awarded the Military Cross for his services during World War II. Respected by the seniors and juniors alike, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw has also been affectionately known as ‘Sam Bahadur’, especially by his Gorkha brigade, which he had joined post-independence.

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Sam Manekshaw had been often unequivocal in his opinions, which is why he has had been at loggerheads with many yesteryear leaders of the then Congress government. He once famously said, “I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defense of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla, although a great many resemble the latter.” Had it not been for ‘Sam Bahadur’, the scourge of caste-based reservation would’ve entered the Indian Armed Forces as well.

However, Sam Manekshaw’s brilliance was acknowledged by the entire nation during the 1971 Indo Pak War. Sam had openly refused to acknowledge the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s orders of marching into Bangladesh [then East Pakistan] during the summer season, asserting that ‘wars cannot be won without adequate preparation’. His suggestions were accepted without hesitation by Indira Gandhi and the rest, as they say, is history.

For his supreme brilliance as well as his administrative efficiency, Manekshaw was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal in 1972, the only Indian soldier to receive so in active service. However, Sam Manekshaw’s straightforward attitude didn’t go down well with the sycophants of the Nehru Gandhi dynasty, and he had to wait for a whole 35 years to get his dues as the Field Marshal, on the intervention of President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Sam Bahadur took his last breath on 27 June 2008 in his beloved Wellington cantonment.

Besides, Vicky Kaushal as Sam Manekshaw is, without doubt, an outstanding decision taken by the casting crew. Vicky has already mesmerized the entire nation with his near flawless rendition as Para SF commando Major Vihan Singh Shergill in the classic ‘Uri – The Surgical Strike’, based on the heroic cross border surgical strikes executed on terrorist camps by Indian Army’s Para SF forces in September 2016.

While some may not agree with his choice of playing the Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb in the Karan Johar drama ‘Takht’, a lot have overwhelmingly approved of his selection as the unsung revolutionary Udham Singh in the upcoming Shoojit Sircar-directed biopic ‘Sardar Udham Singh’. We hope that Vicky Kaushal does complete justice to the legacy of the noble warrior that Sam Manekshaw has been. Besides, given how Sam Manekshaw believed in the ‘tongue in cheek humor’, even in the direst circumstances, one should expect some extremely hilarious scenes as well.