Image copyright GETTY IMAGESAn announcement that a Bollywood film will be made on Indian war hero Sam Manekshaw has seen him trend on social media 11 years after his death.
Manekshaw is arguably India’s best known army general.
He was the chief of the Indian army during the 1971 war with Pakistan, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan.
He was also the first Indian army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal.
The film’s “first look” – a poster featuring lead actor Vicky Kaushal – was released on Thursday to coincide with Mankeshaw’s death anniversary.
It has generated chatter because of Kaushal’s “uncanny resemblance” to Manekshaw.
Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar told PTI news agency that while the film will be based on his life, it won’t necessarily be a biopic. “I’m looking at the man, his life and his times,” she said.
Kaushal also took to Twitter, saying he was “honoured and proud” to play the role of Manekshaw.
Who was Gen Manekshaw?
He was born in 1914 to Parsi parents in British India and began his military career in what was then known as the British Indian Army during World War Two.
He died in 2008, after a career that stretched over four decades and five wars, earning him the nickname of Sam Bahadur (which means Sam the Brave in Hindi).
Known as one of India’s greatest war heroes, Manekshaw was praised for his swift leadership during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan – two of India’s highest civilian awards.
“Sam Manekshaw’s name will be etched in history as one of the greatest soldiers and minds India has ever seen,” Ronnie Screwvala, whose company RSVP is producing the film, told Indian media.
Source: The BBC
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 
Laurence Fox apologises to Sikhs for ‘clumsy’ 1917 comment
Laurence Fox has apologised for comments he made about the inclusion of a Sikh soldier in a World War One film.
The actor had previously referred to “the oddness in the casting” of a Sikh soldier in Sir Sam Mendes’ movie 1917.
“Fellow humans who are Sikhs, I am as moved by the sacrifices your relatives made as I am by the loss of all those who die in war, whatever creed or colour,” Fox tweeted.
“Please accept my apology for being clumsy in the way I expressed myself.”
His original comments attracted widespread criticism and historians drew attention to the contribution of Sikhs in the British Army during World War One.
About 130,000 Sikh men took part in the war, making up 20% of the British Indian Army, according to the WW1 Sikh Memorial Fund.
End of Twitter post by @LozzaFox
“Even in 1917 they’ve done it with a Sikh soldier, which is great, it’s brilliant, but you’re suddenly aware there were Sikhs fighting in this war. And you’re like ‘OK, you’re now diverting me away from what the story is’.”
The former Lewis star also responded to Delingpole’s comments about film-makers “shoehorning” people of different ethnicities into dramas.
Fox said: “It is kind of racist – if you talk about institutional racism, which is what everyone loves to go on about, which I’m not a believer in, there is something institutionally racist about forcing diversity on people in that way. You don’t want to think about [that].’
Former Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati responded with an image of Sikh soldiers and queried the inclusion of just one in the film.
End of Twitter post by @ShobnaGulati
Presenter Piers Morgan told Fox his comments were “insulting to solders who had served” and were “an unfortunate thing to have said” and co-host Susanna Reid added: “Sikhs fought with British forces, not just with their own regiments – it’s a historical fact.”
Morgan said he had agreed with other things Fox had said in the last two weeks, referring to the actor’s high-profile appearance on BBC One’s Question Time.
The actor clashed with audience member Rachel Boyle, a university lecturer and race and ethnicity researcher, who said the way Meghan Markle had been treated in the press was “racist”.
Fox responded to her by saying: “It’s not racism, we’re the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe. It’s so easy to throw the charge of racism at everybody and it’s really starting to get boring now.”
Footage of Fox’s appearance was widely shared on social media – with some praising his comments but others calling them offensive.
The programme received more than 250 complaints, the corporation revealed in its fortnightly report for the BBC complaints service.
The main issues cited were that the “audience [was] not representative of the local area, leading to a pro-Conservative bias” and a “discussion on racism [was] felt to be offensive”.
Source: The BBC
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