This film from the 60s used real jets to show aerial battles and even had the involvement of the Indian Air Force.
The genre of aerial warfare is not new to Indian cinema but of late, it has begun to be populated very heavily. As many as four films are being made in India currently on the Air Force, all using real fighter jets to show dogfights and aerial battle. But 2023 is not the year when an Indian film will do this for the first time. That happened almost six decades ago in a mega budget film from a visionary director.
The first Bollywood film to show aerial battles
Years before Tejas, Fighter or Operation Valentine, Raj Kapoor decided to make a film with Indian Air Force at its backdrop. The final product was Sangam, a love triangle in the mould of Hell’s Angels with the director himself playing an Indian Air Force officer. One of the most expensive Indian films of its time, Sangam was hailed for using real planes to show some scenes of aerial battle and for the scale of war shown in it.
How Sangam took 16 years to make
In the late-1940s, when Raj Kapoor had not yet become a director, he conceptualised a film titled Gharonda starring himself, Nargis, and Dilip Kumar. Air Force was to be a central theme in it and the story was written when Kapoor was making his directorial debut with Aag in 1948. However, after several postponements, Raj Kapoor moved to other projects like Awara and the film entered development hell. It was revived only in 1962 with Vyjanthymala as the female lead. Dilip Kumar could not come on board due to creative differences while Dev Anand and Uttam Kumar declined. Hence, the second lead role went to Rajendra Kumar, and Sangal began filming in 1963.
How the Indian Air Force became involved
Even though the warfare scenes constituted a small part of the film, Raj Kapoor spared no expense in making them seem authentic. Hence, the filmmaker went to IAF for assistance. The force responded in kind and helped the filmmaker with both hardware and expertise, helping Sangam break new boundaries in Indian cinema. Upon release, Sangam broke several box office records, grossing over Rs 8 crore worldwide.
