ABSTRACT
Understanding the need to visit the narratives of history is one important way of imagining a nation. , This chapter critically engages with the relationship between history, narratives and film adaptations. Using the ideas of Hayden White, this chapter, while using films as a source to understand history, theorises the relationship between history and cinema. It approaches history as a narrative to understand the relationship between history and film in the frame of postmodern historiography. The chapter examines three films, Trikal, The Making of the Mahatma, and Neta Ji: The Forgotten Hero. Trikal is set against the historical backdrop of the Goa liberation of1961. Using the flashback technique, the narrative weaves the micro-history of a family with that of the history of Goa. Seen from the viewpoint of women belonging to three generations, the narratives treat time philosophically interwoven with the rich culture and history of Goa. The Making of the Mahatma studies negotiations between the image of Gandhi that appears in the film and the image of Gandhi in the popular imagination. Shyam Benegal presents the image of Gandhi in the film with objectivity while discussing the controversial narrative of Gandhi’s life in the popular imagination. Neta Ji: The Forgotten Hero, a relatively less critical narrative, glorifies the contribution made by Subhash Chandra Bose, a marginalised nationalistic figure in the history. Using textual study and other sources, the analysis tries to understand Subhas C. Bose’s position vis-à-vis the narrative of Indian history.
