As soon as you come across the words ‘Give me blood and I will give you freedom’, the picture of the late bespectacled leader with fire igniting words and action to set his country free and supreme comes floating before you. And today on his birthday (23 January), we fondly remember the great soldier Subhash Chandra Bose who was lovingly called Netaji by his followers, who saw a perfect leader in him. Netaji was one historic hero who contributed a lot for the fight of India’s freedom but is hardly talked about. He was one of our leaders whose mysterious death brought his ideologies to an abrupt end. And in a changed scenario today when the youth wait for times to change rather believe in standing for their rights, it makes us think would Netaji’s thoughts have been effective today? What would have been the scenario if a leader like him existed in current times? Well, a few of our TV stars talked to Tellychakkar.com and shared their views about this great leader and his ideologies. Firstly we spoke to Rohit Roy, who hails from Kolkata and has grown up hearing tales of the great leader. “It is a usual practice in all Bengali houses to have a portrait of Netaji with them. And since my middle name is Bose, it gave me great pleasure as a child to think that somewhere down the family tree I might be related to him. I really believe in his ideologies which makes us stand for our rights. And as all Bengalis are aggressive, we can never stand injustice. My father also taught us that when you are right you should fight for it but if you are wrong, you should never be ashamed to apologise.” Sayantani Ghosh, another Bengali, echoes the same thought and added, “I quite relate to his thoughts and even though I am not a violent person, I feel that if you always keep quiet, sometimes people take it as weakness; hence one should know how to balance the two. You can’t be lying low all the time and have to stand for your rights whenever in need. And it’s disappointing that Netaji’s birthday is not marked as a national holiday though he was a very important part of our history. I feel that his efforts should be respected.” Netaji’s death still remains a mystery and here Gaurav Chopraa talked about how intrigued he was to hear about him as a child. “When news came about a man being found and was touted to be the leader in hidings, my family would be glued to the TV set to get more information on the same. Believe me that was the first instance as a child that got me hooked to this great leader. It was unfortunate that he wasn’t given the support he deserved and I feel if he would have lived long, history would have been something different completely.” Soon talented actor Amit Behl observed, “I think he is the true unsung hero of our country. Although now we get to know about him through Google, but in our times it was tough. And yet he is one of the most loved leaders in our country as he was a die-hard fighter who sacrificed his life fighting for our country; he was a true warrior. People in our country and our neighbourhood like to behave as sevaks and being governed upon. He stood by them only to end mysteriously.” So are his thoughts important in today’s world? Answered Sayantani, “With the crime rates rising so much especially upon women, it’s definitely the time for us to stand and fight for our rights. We have had enough and should use a more aggressive mode to do away with the crime.” Added Roopal Tyagi, who is seen standing against all injustice in her show Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke, “Earlier, people could not take stand so easily but the world wasn’t that progressive. But today we are educated and know the difference between right and wrong. May be Netaji’s thought was a bit ahead of time for I think his ideologies suits the current time perfectly. I wish we could have someone like him now. The differences of thoughts among the leaders then led to a confusion although all of them were fighting for the freedom of our country.” In-between Amit quipped, “Netaji’s thoughts combined with top prodigies of some parties today could work wonders for our country. This win-win situation can only lead us to where every educated Indian aspires to be.” Talking fondly about his leadership quality, Rohit mentioned, “We need more Netajis today who can lead us from the front. Though with a limited source of authority, he was able to sway the emotion of the people and connect directly with them. Unfortunately his untimely and mysterious disappearing led to the end of his era. I just wish that he remains happy wherever he is.” Gaurav too admired the leadership qualities the soldier possessed, as he mentioned, “Though it was a time when there was no TV, telephone or internet, yet he genuinely connected with the people and led them even without any campaign or media hype; that’s the mark of a great leader. He was extremely popular and people trusted him blindly because they knew what he was doing was for their good. We need someone with that trust factor today.” In conclusion Amit observed, “The present generation needs a thought process like his and I feel proud that the country I live borne a great man like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.” Well, past cannot be brought back but on this day we can pay our respect to the man and give this comrade our ‘Laal Salaam’.