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The movie on the legendary soldier Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw, Sam Bahadur, was well received by the Parsi community. Special showings of the movie were held by various community anjumans and associations. The Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York was to hold a screening of Sam Bahadur: "On the first Sunday of March, while children are in their religion class, in lieu of a talk/lecture, adults will come together and watch the movie.”

Parsiana had carried a review of the film ("Moments with Manekshaw,” January 7-20, 2024). We were keen to know how Manekshaw’s family viewed the movie and asked his daughter Maja Daruwala and granddaughter Brandy Batliwala. Our questions included: Did you feel the movie correctly portrays the man?  Did the producer/director/actors/scriptwriters consult the family? Would you recommend the movie to others? If you were making the movie what would you have done differently?

Maja Daruwala

I liked the movie a lot. And the incidents were very accurate. Vicky Kaushal did an amazing job of impersonating my father, and I think the incidents portrayed did indicate the essence of the man. However, you inquired what more the movie could have portrayed: perhaps a mix of his military life along with his personal life. The latter was extremely pleasant; he made it extremely pleasant. He was full of fun. He was full of mischief. He had a great sense of humor. He had a particularly Parsi sense of humor. He was a great egalitarian and democrat. At the same time he loved our affection and admiration and he gave back as much as we gave to him. It takes a special personality to be fully engaged at home as well as be involved in the kind of professional life that he had.

I would surely recommend the movie to anybody, especially in today’s time where we seem to be suffering from a certain kind of moral equivocation, if you like. He was an ethical man. When I say an ethical man, I mean professionally. He was clear in his mind that he was a competent professional and that whatever he was doing was because he held a certain position, whether that position was as a captain or as chief of army staff. Today everybody is amazed that he could hold his own against the prime minister. But it wasn’t against the prime minister at all. It was about the prime minister trusting the professionalism of a very competent general. It would have been a betrayal if he had acquiesced in things that he didn’t believe in to bring about success.

Yes, the director and the scriptwriters did consult with me and the relationship between the makers of the film and the family was cordial and continues to remain so. I would have loved for my mother’s role to have been more rich and nuanced.

Brandy Batliwala

As a family we were very excited that a film was finally being made about Sam. More so for the younger generations who did not know very much about him. The response from them has been so heartwarming.

Producer Ronnie Screwvala and director Meghna Gulzar, along with the army, have ensured the film is a true representation of his life. The film was meant to represent his career in the Indian Army and Vicky Kaushal did a wonderful job of ensuring he was authentically represented. There is a sprinkling of Sam as a father and husband which in fact is also true and very endearing.

We’ve had feedback saying there should have been more "personal touches,” like for example how and why he joined the army, but the film was already 2.5 hours long. Unfortunately, there is only that much that can be told in a short period of time. Again, it’s wonderful the audience is interested to know more.

Gulzar and her team did meet with both his daughters, Sherry Batliwala (my mother) and Maja Daruwala. They also kindly met with his three grandchildren and with the extended family. But like I said, the film was about his career so the army had to approve the script as well. Kaushal too was very particular and met with my cousin Jehan to get his feedback while he prepared for the role.

The film leaves you feeling good and proud of the country and the army. I highly recommend it to everyone and especially to the younger generation. I have watched it five times (with friends and family) and there is something new I learn each time I watch it.

I would have liked to ensure my grandmother Silloo was also given credit for who she was. She was an equally wonderful and giving person. A small example, a scene in the film where Sam is visiting the wounded soldiers in hospital, my grandmother would be at the hospital morning to night, seven days a week caring for the soldiers.

But the film was about him so I can understand the need to keep it to that.