Vande Mataram

Aug 8, 1942: On the day Gandhi launched the Quit India movement in Bombay, a band of rebels met in Patna to plot their own campaign. Led by a University of Colorado trained philosopher, they planned to blow up public buildings and landmarks to sabotage both the Quit India movement and the British Empire. A veteran of World War I was recruited to build bombs; a renegade Congressman provided ideological cover; a couple of businessmen provided money; a restauranteur offered his backyard as a bomb factory. This is the story of their campaign its motivations, flaws, triumphs and failures.

Based on a true story – the Keezhariyur Bomb Case in Malabar, Kerala – Vande Mataram is a lament for Indian nationalism and the absurdity of being an Indian rebel in the 1940s.