Mangal Pandey: The Rising
The story begins in 1857, when a large part of India was under the control of the British East India Company. Mangal Pandey (Aamir Khan) is a sepoy, a soldier of Indian origin, in the army of the East India Company. While fighting in the Anglo-Afghan Wars, he saves the life of his British commanding officer, William Gordon (Toby Stephens). Gordon is indebted to Pandey and a strong friendship develops between them, transcending rank and race.
Gordon rescues a young widow, Jwala (Ameesha Patel), from committing sati (the act of following her deceased husband on to the funeral pyre); and afterwards, he falls in love with her. Meanwhile, Heera (Rani Mukerji) has been sold into prostitution, to work for Lol Bibi (Kirron Kher). There is a spark of attraction between her and Pandey and a liaison follows.
Gordon and Pandey's friendship is challenged following the introduction of a new rifle: the Enfield rifled musket. Rumours spread among the sepoys that the paper cartridges, which hold the powder and ball for the rifle, are greased with either pig fat or beef tallow. The process of loading the rifle requires the soldier to bite the down on the cartridge, and the soldiers believe that this would cause them to consume pork or beef — acts abhorrent to Muslim and Hindu soldiers for religious reasons.
Gordon investigates this claim, and is told by his superiors to assure Pandey and his men that the cartridges are free from animal contamination. Demonstrating his trust in Gordon, Pandey bites the cartridge, but soon afterwards discovers the truth. This seemingly trivial matter becomes the spark that lights the fire of rebellion among the sepoys. Mutiny breaks out, led by Pandey, and the situation escalates, fueled by the frustration of years of colonialism and subjugation. At one point, Pandey and Gordon engage involved in hand-to-hand combat as the latter tries to dissuade his friend from what he believes to be a futile exercise that will only lead to certain death.
The Company moves to quickly stop the uprising by bringing in army units from Myanmar (Burma). Pandey is captured and set to be exectuted, despite the protestations of Gordon, who reasons that Pandey will be revered as a martyr and that his legacy will cause more protests. This turns out to be correct, and Pandey marries Heera in his jail cell before his execution as scenes of nationwide revolt against British rule are shown. In the aftermath, Gordon is listed as having joined the rebellion against the British Raj.
The film ends with a montage of drawings of the historical rebellion and the narrator describes the progress of the Indian independence movement over the next century. The montage ends with documentary footage of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi leading the Indian National Congress during peaceful protests against British rule in the 1940s, eventually forcing an end to colonialism in the subcontinent.
violence, romantic