The Forgotten Army: Prime ~ Non-Spoiler Review

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Photo montage of The Forgotten Army. Top left and bottom right are posters for the show from Amazon. Centre top and mid-centre are wartime action shots showing men in uniform, armed and in lower one a man running towards the camera. Top right shows a female soldier in uniform and standing to attention. Lower left shows a Japanese officer and an Indian officer walking ahead of Japanese troops. Centre left shows a battle scene with soldiers walking through long grass, firing fires and smoke. Lower centre left shows female recruits in uniform running with their rifles carried above their heads. — Photo credits: Amazon Prime

🇮🇳 The Forgotten Army (Azaadi Ke Liye) 🇮🇳

The Forgotten Army is an Indian Amazon Original miniseries (2020). Subtitles are available. The show is in Hindi with some English spoken. 5 episodes of 33-45 minutes.

“Lieutenant Sodhi and his army fight for Indian Independence during World War II as part of the Indian National Army; the journey and sacrifice of the Indian National Army from its soldiers’ point of view.” IMDb 8.1/10 (Very worthy of that rating or even more). Cert: 18 (firm) E:1 rest 15 (UK)

The Forgotten Army Cast:

Sunny Kaushal ~ Sodhi

Sharvari Wagh ~ Maya

Tj Bhanu ~ Rasamma

Rohit Chaudhary ~ Arshad

Shah Rukh Khan ~ Narrator

Karanvir Malhotra ~ Amar

M.K. Raina ~ Old Sodhi

Junichi Kajioka ~ General Fujiwara

The Forgotten Army is a stunning and haunting miniseries about the Indian National Army. It is mostly directed by Kabir Khan who, although a very successful Bollywood Director, comes from a documentary-style of film making with Anil Senior also directing.

The cinematography in this is in a league of its own at times. Beautiful visual imagery, often contrasting against utter carnage. The action sequences, particularly combat situations, have a brutal, visceral quality to them.

The writing by Kabir Khan (and 2 others) is excellent. There are some beautiful and tranquil interludes between the devastating horror of it all.

Sound design, music, effects and costuming are all superb. The Forgotten Army has incredibly high production values. Sunny Kaushal (Sodhi/Lt. Sodhi), Sharvari Wagh (Maya), Rohit Choudhary (Arshad), T J Bhanu (Rasamma) are the lead cast and do an amazing job.

There are aspects of this that will raise some very uncomfortable questions both within India and elsewhere (including the U.K.).

Some will also dislike this because it has a love story at its heart but I feel this is necessary to show how love (in its widest sense) drives motivation. It also shows how mass events such as war affect individuals and their future lives.

The role of women as combatants in the Indian National Army is explored well in this series and will be a big surprise to many.

Unreservedly recommended.

Link to Official Trailer:

https://youtu.be/gCOAs18KLyI

This online publication also has its own Facebook Page with a wide variety of content:

https://m.facebook.com/reel2reeltalk/

Other Links:

Tips: How to Get Subtitles on Netflix and Prime

Occupied ~ Non-Spoiler Review

The Protector: Netflix S1-3 ~ Non-Spoiler Review

Undercover: Netflix ~ Non-Spoiler Review

The Gift: Netflix ~ Non-Spoiler Review