5 Indian political films to watch on 'anti-establishment' day

'Remember, remember the 5th of November' was a saying made popular by the 2006 political-thriller 'V for Vendetta', a film celebrating resistance against a fascist government. The film also made the 'Guy Fawkes mask'(or Anonymous mask) a popular symbol of resistance against oppressive regimes. The origins of this now popular anti-establishment symbol can be traced back to the 'Gunpowder Plot' of 1605 when Guy Fawkes was caught and killed for trying to blow up the British Parliament and assassinate King James I.As the United Kingdom and other countries gear up to celebrate 'Guy Fawkes day', listed below are some Indian films that brilliantly captured the essence of anti-incumbency rooted in the issues of the times. While India under BJP has witnessed a spike in blatant pro-government films such as Uri: The Surgical Strike and PM Narendra Modi, here is a look at some films critical of the government that made it through without getting banned.

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005)

Set along an intertwining narrative of three college students whos journeys are shaped by the Naxalbari movement of the 70s and Indira Gandhi's Emergency, Sudhir Mishra's film is a social commentary on the perils of the times.

The three students of St. Stephen's College, Delhi - Geeta, Siddharth, and Vikram - share distinct stances towards the State.

While Geeta, a sheltered girl is instantly drawn to Siddharth's fiery political views based on radical Marxism, she is initially hesitant about fully immersing herself into the cause. Vikram, on the other hand, is an apolitical middle-class member who does not understand his father's dedication to other people over climbing up the social ladder. Geeta's struggle between her love for Siddharth or Vikram is also a metaphorical representation of her choice between dedicating her life to the oppressed people in Bhojpur, Bihar, or choosing the path of political indifference.

Rang de Basanti (2006)

A cult favourite when it comes to anti-establishment films, Omprakash Mehra's RDB revolves around a group of youngsters from Delhi who shed their political indifference while acting in a documentary on the sacrifices made by freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad. Inspired by the revolutionaries, the youngsters draft a plot to assassinate the corrupt Defence Minister whose negligence and corruption leads to the death of their friend in the Indian Air Force.

Despite the film having a huge fan-following in India, some were critical of the final sequence which portrays the Indian Army attacking the students inside the radio station. Mehra, however, stood by his choice of portrayal, claiming that his work was borrowed from reality when four students had captured a TV station in Allahabad in 2005 and were shot dead.

Firaaq (2008)

Nandita Das's directorial debut is a tale of the deep wounds left by the Gujarat riots of 2002. The film explores the damage done after a month since the Godhra carnage along with subsequent distrust between communities. It shows the rampant attacks on and torture of Muslims and the burning fear the minority community had to live with, in the aftermath. It is the humanisation of violence from being mere statistics to showing the trauma of 'people just like us'.

Firaaq was banned in Gujarat but released in other Indian states.

Midnight's Children (2012)

An adaptation of the book by Salman Rushdie, Deepa Mehta's direction encapsulates the different emotions entrapped during the 1975 Emergency.

The film starts off with the story of two boys born at midnight on 15th of August, 1947 (India-Pakistan partition), and switched at birth into completely different lives than the ones they were destined to lead.

The film centres around children born at midnight during India's partition, possessing special abilities which are representations of the different sentiments that got trapped during the Emergency when the Midnight's Children were captured.

The film was initially posed with the looming question of a ban because of Rushdie, a controversial person in India due to his 1988 book The Satanic Verses, but Midnight's Children managed to secure a 2013 release in India.

Haider (2014)

This Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet deals with the Kashmir issue from a Kashmiri perspective.

Haider is a story of life in the Kashmir valley under the controversial AFSPA Act, marred with human rights violations and psychological/physical trauma of the Kashmiris.

Shahid Kapoor plays the role of Haider, an Aligarh Muslim University student, who returns home to inquire about his father's mysterious disappearance and finds it difficult to cope with his mother's growing relationship with his uncle under the disturbing circumstances. His father, a doctor, was executed for treating an ailing separatist in his home. The plot progresses by highlighting the instances that lead the Kashmiri youth, like Haider, into 'militancy'.

While Vishal Bhardwaj received major backlash from Hindutva groups for this film and Kashmiri Pandits demanded a ban, Haider made it to the big screen without receiving one.