It?s on the must-watch list of every cinebuff, every history student and every film lover. And surprisingly, it is no longer relegated to the sidelined and blurred world of parallel cinema. Shyam Benegal?s latest masterpiece, Bose: The Forgotten Hero, is as much a force in the mainstream as it is an attempt to globalise Indian cinema.

Documenting Netaji Subash Chandra Bose?s life during the period between 1940 and 1945, the film tails the freedom fighter?s extraordinary journey through Afghanistan, Moscow, Berlin, Madagascar, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore. As for the cast, the film blends the best of India?s serious actors and the cream of international performers. While veteran theatre actor Sachin Khedekar plays Netaji, Rajit Kapur is Abid Hasan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda plays Uttamchand Malhotra, Alan Thomson is Lord Wavell, Nicholas Chagrin is General Auchinlek and Udo Schenk is Hitler.

The general feeling around is that the maker of Ankur, Nishant and Bhumika is making a biopic for the first time. ?But I?ve also made three other biographical films, one on Satyajit Ray, one on Nehru and, of course, The Making of the Mahatma,? says Shyambabu.

But unlike his other ventures, Bose: The Forgotten Hero demanded maximum research work. From countless books on Netaji to meeting scholars and prisoners of war, it has been a mammoth project. ?Yes, we have done enormous amounts of research,? confirms Benegal, who has taken more than two years to complete the ambitious Rs 210-million film.

Bose: The Forgotten Hero also boasts of some great off-screen technicians. While genius A.R. Rahman has written the music for the magnum opus, Rajan Kothari, who has worked in four of Benegal?s previous films, has handled the camera. But unlike Benegal?s last film Zubeidaa, which was laced with the likes of Kareena Kapoor, Rekha and Manoj Bajpai, there are no stars in Bose: The Forgotten Hero. ?I have no apathy whatsoever towards stars. There aren?t any stars who remotely resemble Netaji? Sachin has given an extraordinarily brilliant performance. Jishu is also first rate (seen together in picture by Aranya Sen),? says the director.

There is a big buzz amongst the select few who have seen the film about the confrontation sequences between Netaji and Hitler. ?There are recorded minutes of the meeting as well as an eye-witness rendering,? says Benegal. The director maintains that the film is as close as possible to the life of the hero, except at places where ?some cinematic liberties have been taken in order to make a coherent and dramatic narrative?.

With 70 per cent of the film in English (the rest being in Hindi), Bose: The Forgotten Hero is being billed as India?s first proper crossover film. ?I don?t understand the term ?crossover?. I hope the film will be seen by Indians everywhere. It is of primary interest to them,? says Benegal. And there is no thrust on the much-debated disappearance of Netaji either. ?The end is not my focus. We celebrate his life in the film.?

The film has already been censored and received a universal certification. ?I am told by Sahara One (presenters of the film) that the film will release in March,? Shyambabu signs off.