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Republic Day 2025| Sidhant Gupta on how Freedom At Midnight changed his idea of patriotism: There is an emotional aspect

ByAkash Bhatnagar
Jan 25, 2025 10:41 AM IST

Ahead of Republic Day 2025, Sidhant Gupta opens up on his idea of patriotism and how playing Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Freedom At Midnight impacted that 

For Sidhant Gupta, the meaning of Republic Day changed after he played independent India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in Freedom At Midnight. Sidhant Gupta admits that the role gave him a new perspective and instilled a new sense of pride in him for the country.

Sidhant Gupta celebrates Republic Day(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)
Sidhant Gupta celebrates Republic Day(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)

Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)
Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)

Ask him to recall his memories of celebrating Republic Day growing up and pat comes the reply: “I remember the march past in school and that used to be the most boring thing. We were like this mischievous bunch of three-four kids and all eyes used to be on us, and our teacher used to be there with a danda. While the band was beating the drum, he was beating our backs. There used to be drills and rehearsals for three to four days before Republic Day. Coming from Jammu, they have this fauji culture there.”

Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)
Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)

But now, having moved to Mumbai, he has his own tradition of bringing in the day. “It's as simple as going out on a drive and just buying a little flag at the signal. You would only do it on a Republic Day or an Independence Day. Something changes in you when you hold the flag, it leaves you with a feeling that it matters, this country matters. There is an emotional aspect that is attached to it now that I feel for myself, because I need it,” he shares.

Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)
Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)

For Sidhant, the meaning of patriotism is also quite unique. “It's innate. Especially after doing Freedom At Midnight, when you live such characters, you live such feelings inside of you. You understand that there is something inside of you that even songs for the country do something to you. It's an emotion and we all feel it; it’s like the feeling of home and you want to do something about it,” he says, adding, “Through art, whatever I can serve and however, I can serve for the country, I want to do it. All you can do is to try with the best of your ability to make people of the country proud.”

Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)
Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)

On January 26, 1950, the constitution of India was signed, and having lived the character of Nehru, Sidhant somewhere understands what went behind the making of it. “They understood that the people, who had been suppressed for so long, needed to be uplifted. And that’s why even the constitution reads, ‘We, the people...’ They understood equality is so important and giving them the power to choose their own leader will give them the feeling that this is your country,” he insists.

Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)
Sidhant Gupta(Photo: Raju Shinde/HT)

The actor adds that politics used to be on a pedestal during those times and he hopes that more people from the youth pursue that field for the betterment of the country. “The biggest stars of India were the politicians back then. While politics felt dirty in between somewhere, now, thankfully due to our Prime Minister, politics feels less corrupt. There is some development that has started in the country, and I truly feel that. Now is the time when people should be excited for politics. So, it's coming back, the trend of being a star when you're a politician. It's the next big and cool thing. You just have to be driven enough with the intention to bring a change,” he ends.

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