Swatantra Veer Savarkar – Yes, I am Savarkar is a dramatic portrayal of the extraordinary life of Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the great revolutionary, thinker, and national hero of India. The story begins in 1883 in Bhagur, Nashik, moves to his time in the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands, and into the years of independent India. The play introduces the audience to Savarkar’s unwavering love for his motherland from his childhood and his journey to London in 1906, where he ignited the flame of revolution at “India House.” The burning of foreign clothes, the book he wrote on the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, and the inhuman tortures of the Andaman prisoners come alive in the play. It is a living embodiment of the Indian spirit of freedom, the saga of a hero who dedicated himself and his family to the nation.

Writer and Director

Rishi Sahni has participated in the field of art since childhood, taking part in numerous plays, like Panna Dhai, Veer Shivaji Maharaj, Maharana Pratap, Jallianwala Bagh, and various roles in Ramlila performances. In his direction, he gives special importance to the emotional expression of the actors, dialogue, and stage design.

Director’s Note

“Swatantra Veer Savarkar: Yes, I am Savarkar” is not just a historical play, but a living embodiment of an idea, a consciousness, an inspiration, and a resolve. It is a fire that ignites in the heart of every Indian as the flame of freedom that life teaches us that the nation is paramount. Chains can bind the body, but not thoughts, which no prison, no shackles, no torture can extinguish or suppress. Bringing the saga of his indomitable courage, penance, and patriotism to the stage is not merely an artistic endeavour but a national duty. His ideology, his sacrifice, his love for his motherland, and his unwavering resolve are the soul of this theatrical journey.