Kabir Khan chronicles how he recreated Singapore's City Hall in Mumbai for The Forgotten Army
Singapore City Hall as depicted in the web sries
Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army will trace the making of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army, the Indian military wing formed by Indian prisoners of war who were captured after the fall of Singapore. Since a large portion of the story plays out in Singapore of the 1940s, the director recreated parts of the island city-state in Mumbai.
"While we shot the scenes of current-day Singapore in the country itself, the grandeur of old Singapore had to be recreated in Mumbai. [We did so] with the help of archival footage and cutting-edge technology," says the director proudly, adding that his team scoured through extensive archival footage available as part of pre-production. "In fact, we have used some of that actual footage in the show."
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A story about Bose's valiant army would be incomplete without a mention of the leader's iconic speech, Tum mujhe khoon do. Singapore's City Hall, which bore witness to the landmark speech, was replicated in Mumbai's Film City. "It was important for me to recreate the iconic places of Singapore to present an authentic account of the incidents that transpired. [We've shot] hair-raising moments, such as the Japanese attacking the British Army on bicycles, [and] 30,000 soldiers marching from Singapore City Hall shouting 'Jai Hind' while raising their rifles. We also shot at the INA memorial in Singapore. Most sets were built with the help of blueprints, with VFX used to [enhance them further]. We had around 900 people on set working round the clock."
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