Over 60 actors rejected the lead role in this film. It’s about the ‘lies’ in school textbooks

‘I have spent four years making His Story of Itihaas, and I have done the research for the film. I am the writer, producer and director, and did everything,' said Manpreet Singh Dhami.

Actors Akanksha Pandey and Yogendra Tiku with director Manpreet Singh Dhami (left to right) at the preview of His Story of Itihaas in Delhi | By special arrangement

Manpreet Singh Dhami’s second film His Story of Itihaas was rejected by more than 60 actors before Subodh Bhave agreed to do the film. Dhami, who wrote, produced and directed the film, was speaking at the Delhi screening of the film.

His Story of Itihaas is about a physics coaching teacher, Namit Bharadwaj (Subodh Bhave), who is troubled by the ‘lies’ in his daughter’s school history textbook. He sets out on a one-man mission to challenge the claims, filing RTIs, challenging historians, to the extent that it affects his personal life. The film will be released on 30 May.

“He listened to me narrating the script and said yes. I am glad others said no, and I got a fantastic actor like him,” said Dhami.

The disclaimer before His Story of Itihaas treads cautiously. It states that the historical ‘facts’ presented in the film have been independently verified, but that the viewers should use their own discretion to arrive at any conclusion.

“I have spent four years making this movie, and I have done the research for the film. I am the writer, producer and director, and did everything,” said Dhami. Owing to budgetary constraints, he could not hire a research team.

The movie is based on the book Brainwashed Republic: India’s Controlled Systemic Deracination by Munieshwer A Sagar and Neeraj Atri. Atri is the president of the National Centre for Historical Research and Comparative Studies, Chandigarh.

“I was inspired by Atri, but Bhave’s character is based on my own experiences,” said the director.

The private screening in Delhi with 50 odd people also had Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood in attendance.

“I went to Europe for the first time 13 years ago, and I felt inferior. I later realised my civilisational greatness, and read Talking History: Romila Thapar in Conversation with Ramin Jahanbegloo, with the Participation of Neeladri Bhattacharya, and other books. I understood the overglorification of Mughals,” said Dhami. 

Identity politics

Dhami’s film launches a full-fledged attack on anything and everything presented in the history books of Indian schools. From scientific discoveries to the origin of certain popular food items, everything significant is attributed to India’s golden, pre-Mughal and pre-British past.

In one of the scenes, Bharadwaj, after reading books, whose names are not shown in the film, states that Sati was a voluntary practice by Hindu widows, and that biryani was invented in India, and Mughal taxes on non-Muslims were the reason why conversions happened. While conversing with his friend Ashish (Sachin K Jaryal), who is an IAS officer, Bharadwaj tells him that a British report mentions that Indian gurukuls at one point had more Shudra students than Brahmins. Ashish plays a Dalit man, who refutes Namit’s statement, walking out in anger.

The film’s cast is a mix of known and new faces. It features veteran actors like Bhave and Tiku, who do most of the heavy lifting in the film. Bhave is known for his roles in Marathi biopics such as Balgandharva (2011) and Ani… Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar (2018). Tiku, who is a character actor, has recently been part of the Amazon Prime Video web series Dupahiya (2025). Sachin K Jaryal, who plays Ashish, was also part of Dhami’s previous project, Bulbule (2021)

When a committee is formed after Bharadwaj’s relentless RTIs to the education ministry, Ashish takes the side of the ‘liberal’ historians Chhaya Mukherjee (Vasanti Sundaram) and Ishaan Kabir (Ankur Vikal). They are shown to be manipulative, and the final voice in decisions related to school curriculum, wielding more power than even the ministry. They even steal the academic work of and levy a fake sexual harassment complaint against a fluent-Hindi speaking Tamil Brahmin colleague, Kamal Subramanian (Yogendra Tiku).

Bharadwaj seeks Subramanian’s help in challenging the school texts, and is mentored in matters of history. The history professor tells Bharadwaj that none of the facts presented in the school curriculum have any corresponding proof. In a scene he even evokes Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, to prove his point. “If you call a circle square through flowery language enough number of times, that becomes the truth. That is how propaganda works,” said Kamal.

(Edited by Theres Sudeep)