Vir Das, Soha Ali Khan Star in ’31st October,’ a Gripping Film Based on Indira Gandhi’s Assassination

The trailer of the film teases a gritty take on the riots that began after her death.

[Photo Credit: Facebook/31stOctober]

Soha Ali Khan and Vir Das’s upcoming thriller, “31st October,” takes a look at the hysteria that gripped India in the immediate aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31, 1984.

The trailer of the film teases a gritty take on the riots that began after her death. The film focuses on a Sikh family trapped in Delhi during this turmoil, with Delhi’s Sikh neighborhoods being among the worst hit during the 1984 riots.

We know that Gandhi was killed by two of her own bodyguards. They shot her in the garden of her own home in New Delhi.  However, we are not fully aware of the complicated story involving both political and religious upheaval behind her assassination. Gandhi was shot at over 30 times by her Sikh guards, both of whom were allegedly seeking vengeance against her after she ordered the military operation Blue Star in June of 1984.

The goal of this military operation was to halt what was viewed by Gandhi as a secessionist Sikh nationalist movement whose leader and his supporters were seeking refuge in the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar (popularly known as the Golden Temple). Thousands of militants, soldiers, and civilians were killed in this attack, and it triggered a significant backlash from Sikhs across India and the world.

With such a deeply political and emotionally charged background leading up to the assassination, there is no surprise that Gandhi’s death triggered remarkable pandemonium across India. The anti-Sikh riots that occurred in the aftermath of her assassination led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Sikhs. And this is where it seems like “31st October” will be drawing much of its storyline from.

Based on the trailer, the movie seems like it will be action-packed and emotionally charged—with both Khan and Das deliver promising performances. Movies like these help us revisit and remember the atrocities in India’s history, and one can only hope that this exposure and these reminders can help us prevent history from repeating itself.

“31st October” is directed by Shivaji Lohan Patil and also stars Daya Shankar Pandey, Lakha Lakhwinder Singh, and Deepraj Rana. It will release on October 7.