The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye -2020- S01 ... Portable

To maintain historical accuracy, Khan and his team went to great lengths. The shooting took place in actual locations crucial to the INA's campaign, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, with certain sequences recreated in Mumbai.

The year 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of India's independence from British colonial rule. As the nation celebrated this milestone, a lesser-known chapter in the country's freedom struggle came to light, thanks to the Amazon Prime Video series "The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye" (Season 1). The show, directed by Kabir Khan and written by Aanchal Sethi and Kabir Khan, shed light on the often-overlooked stories of Indian soldiers who fought against the British in Southeast Asia during World War II.

Features a powerful soundtrack by Pritam, including the stirring anthem "Azaadi Ke Liye."

An aged Sodhi (M.K. Raina) returns to Singapore and Myanmar with his nephew, Amar. This journey serves as a bridge, connecting his past trauma with the contemporary struggle for democracy in the region. A Groundbreaking Portrayal of Women in War One of the show's standout features is its focus on the Rani Jhansi Regiment , the first-ever women's infantry regiment in history. The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye -2020- S01 ...

For years, Suraj had been a soldier in the British Indian Army, a pawn in an empire that looked down on him. But today, standing before a man in a crisp military tunic and round glasses—Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose—everything had changed. The British had surrendered Singapore to the Japanese, but for the Indians gathered there, the real war was just beginning.

Maya scoffed softly, wringing water from her hair. "The British call us traitors. They tell the villagers we are puppets of the Japanese. But when we reach Imphal... when we step foot on Indian soil, the truth will be undeniable."

While mainstream cinema has romanticized the Gandhi-led freedom struggle, this five-part Amazon Prime series walks a road less traveled — the armed, desperate, and ultimately tragic fight for Azaadi from outside India’s borders. The show weaves two timelines: To maintain historical accuracy, Khan and his team

The series begins in 1996 with an elderly Surinder Sodhi (played with profound gravitas by thespian M. K. Raina). Now in his 70s, Sodhi is a quiet, introverted man who travels to Singapore to visit his ailing sister, the sister he left behind half a century ago. This modern-day journey acts as the catalyst for the entire story. As he wanders through the streets of modern Singapore, the sights and sounds trigger powerful memories, plunging him and the audience back into the chaos of World War II. It is an effective device that highlights how trauma and sacrifice are not confined to the battlefield; they follow the soldiers home and haunt them for decades.

"Chalo Dilli" (Onwards to Delhi) becomes the rallying cry for these men and women.

The narrative follows Lieutenant (later Captain) Surinder Sodhi and his band of soldiers as they march from Singapore toward Delhi. The story is told through two alternating timelines: As the nation celebrated this milestone, a lesser-known

The series shines a light on the fact that while the INA did not "win" the military war, their trial in the Red Fort after the war ignited a massive wave of nationalism that eventually forced the British to leave India in 1947.

The series doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths: The British Raj branded the INA soldiers as traitors. The Congress leadership distanced itself from them after the war. Even today, few Indian school textbooks mention the INA’s Battle of Imphal, where men with no air support, wearing khaki shorts and jungle boots, charged against the world’s most powerful empire.