Review on film: The Rising

Mangal Pandey – The Rising

This is the show, I watched last week, and I am telling you this is a very inspiring show, that speaks about friendship, betrayal, greed and love.

It is an Indian show, so unless you know their language, you can understand what is it all about. And if you are not fluent, no worry. Some part of the shows, they speak in English. And in the show, you can see how the English are made to learn the India language.

I thank GOD that there is a English subtitles in the movie, shown in Arts central.

This show, speaks about a part of India history, and a part explaining how the East India Company lost it’s grip in India, and as a result, lost the huge capable of battle with the assistant of sepoys.

Start
The start of the show, may be confusing to some viewers, because it is a zip pass, about Mangal, lead to the gallow, ready to be hang. And then, the show slip to the was in Afghanistan. He earned the respect of British officer William Gordon (Toby Stephens). In the past, the officer is often higher ranking in the company. So Gordon gave him a gun, for his friendship.

Sepoys
The show also look into depth, where Indian woman, having needs of earning, feed the child of the English lady, with her own milk, leaving no milk for her own child. The child have to be fed on opium in order to keep quiet. When the East India company found out there are private trade in opium, they dispatch the sepoy, to demolish all opium villages, who rebels them. The sepoy, feeling helpless, still shoot the villagers down.

Mangal Pandey is one of the many sepoys of the 5th company, 34th Native Infantry Regiment, Barrackpore.He is a man who was loyal his superiors in the army of British East India company. A man with exceptional skills and bravery at the battlefield.

New Ammunition
One day, the East India company introduced new kind of ammunition and rifle. These new kind of rifles, are better than the old rifles, only with one defect. The Company does not have enough capital to finance better lubricants, so they use pig’s and cow’s fat as grease, so the barrel will be smooth. IT was rumor at first, spread by one outcaste.

Outcaste are people without caste. Because they have tasted forbidden animal oil, No one is to sit with them, talk with them, or walk with them.

The cartridge of the new ammunition required the firers to bite the cartridge, and pour in the ammunition into the gun barrel. And because cow and pig, are forbidden by muslim and hindus, no one is suppose to bite it. But the company assures that they are not made with animal fats.

Assurance

When Officer Gordon assures that the cartridges are safe, Mangal bites and fire it. Then, one of the outcaste led Mangal into the factory, which manufactures the cartridges. Mangal was astonished to see the factory, together with other witnesses. He went to Gordon, and sever his friendship tie with him, and starts planning for a rebellion. When Gordon knows the truth, He brought this issue up to his commanding officers. In obsessed with greed and arrogance, They ignores Gordon’s recommendation and persist to use the new cartridges. They did not know, that this small religious issue, is going to lead to the downfall of the East India Company. At this time, there is a small war between the East India and China, because China used to trade with East India for Opium. And then, when China found new source of Opium, they wanted to withdraw. The East India, seeing they are rich in sepoy, boosted about it, and wanted to dispatch the sepoys to China, together with some British.

There is one problem, the Sepoys do not want to use the new cartridges. The Commanding officer, brought the sepoy together, and wanted someone to walk up and fire the rifle. No one bulged this time. And then, the commanding officer offers to fire a cannon at them, to force them. When Gordon see the seriousness of the situation, he tries to stop the commanding officer by saying there is no order from the general for this action. Mangal, step up to the cannon, and tell the artillery to fire, with him standing in front of the mouth of the cannon. The whole regiment cheers, and starts to loot the East India Company.

The Commanding officer then issue order back to England, and ask for a British Battalion to handle the rebels.

MAngal, together with the help of another man, hold a siege against them, and waits for the 31st May, to lead the whole India for rebellion. But there was some hasten and the british warship arrived in 1st April. When Mangal ask for the date to be moved to 30th March, it is hard to be done because of lack of preparation. Mangal, was so pressed on to his faith, he lead a small rebel with the whole battalion single-handedly. He became seriously injured, and was court martial. Gordon, voice out in the court, that the court should find out the cause of the rebellion and not hang mangal. He persist to tell the jury about the seriousness of the situation and the danger that the company may fall because of the death of Mangal. As usual, it falls to deaf ears.

Mangal was due to executed, and in front of the public. Little known to the English people, the india have made the date of Mangal's execution, the date for rebellion. Mangal shout the last word, and he was executed. In that instance, the whole of India rebel against the East India Company, and led the downfall. The East India then realized that there is a great need for sepoys, because they were at war with China. But because of one simple cheap cost of Cartridges, The whole India rebels, and the entire East India company was falls apart.