Sikandar (1941 film)

Sikandar or Sikander (Hindi: सिकन्दर, Urdu: سِکندر) is a 1941 Bollywood film directed by Sohrab Modi and starring Prithviraj Kapoor as Alexander the Great. The film is a historic epic set in 326 BC. The film begins after Alexander the Great (Sikander in Hindi/Urdu) conquers Persia and the Kabul valley and approaches the Indian border at Jhelum. Sohrab Modi plays the Indian king Puru (Porus to the Greeks). The story goes that when Sikander defeated Porus and imprisoned him, he asked Porus how would he like to be treated, Porus replied the same way one defeated king is treated by winner (Means killed). Sikander was impressed by his answer and set him free.

The release of the film coincided with World War II at its peak and in India too the political atmosphere was tense, following Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's call to civil disobedience. Sikander further aroused patriotic feelings and national sentiment. Thus though Sikander was approved by the Bombay censor board, it was later banned from some of the theaters serving army cantonments. However its appeal to nationalism was so great and direct, it remained popular for years. It was revived in Delhi in 1961 during the Indian March into Goa.