Patriotism means different things to different people. What does it mean to filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon, mid-day asked him when we spoke with him days ahead of Independence Day.
“Patriotism comes from doing something good,” he said matter-of-factly. The philosophy has guided his films, Airlift (2016), based on the evacuation of Indians from Kuwait during the 1990 Iraq invasion, and Pippa (2023), set against the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Akshay Kumar in ‘Airlift’
Looking back on Ishaan Khatter’s Pippa, Menon reflected that he focused less on the heroism displayed in war and more on the circumstances that made India’s intervention in the 1971 conflict necessary. “There was a genocide going on, people were being killed,” he said, adding that he deliberately showed his soldiers as ordinary people who find extraordinary courage when circumstances demand it. He reasoned, “Nobody wants to go to war, really. The loss is so tremendous.”
While making both movies, Menon walked on to the set knowing that he wanted to tell a story about patriotism, not jingoism. To him, that difference is crucial. “Jingoism is, ‘We went and destroyed these people.’ For me, patriotism is about what we have done for us.”
Another important change is to separate patriotism from politics. He noted, “Patriotism is apolitical. It’s your love for your country. It could be about a person who builds a dam, or someone who helps children go to school. What is that thing you can do for your country because you love it?”
What’s next?
Raja Krishna Menon will soon begin shooting a Tamil film, though he is keeping details under wraps for now. “It’s a different genre,” he teased. He is expected to announce the project in 10 days
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