The Forgotten Army

More than half a century after World War II, The Forgotten Army launches an expedition to retrace the historic march of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA) and the series of events which took place between 1942 and 1945. The film escorts a number of the Army’s veterans (most notable are Capt. Laxshmi Sehgal and Col. Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon) back to Singapore and Burma as they reconstruct the various stages of the march through their memories. These travelling interviews are set against archival footage of the events and locations the veterans resurrect – sites of long demolished barracks, dilapidated headquarters and battle fields. The film largely pivots around the charismatic figure of Bose, the Army’s leader, featuring remarkable footage from the Cathay Cinema Hall in Singapore when he declares war on Britain and the US.

• army