Review by Dr. Suneel Mehmi
10.10.2026
(You can watch the movie for free on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enjqWaYWAoY)
I write what is not mainstream, but what is important. Not what conforms, but what is valuable. And what is more valued in Indian culture than one that protects? I am named after a film star that saved the life of his leading actress on set. And ‘Papa the Great’, one of my favourite movies, is a film by a director that saved the life of the biggest star in Indian cinema. The film is just after this incident of bravery and protection and it is about the philosophy of standing up for others, of being a protector.
Let us first look at the real life rescue as this is what puts everything into context and then analyse the philosophy of protection and bravery over cowardice in the film.
How K. Bhagyaraj Saved Rajinikanth’s Life: A Dramatic 1995 Rescue
During a 1995 felicitation event for legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan, Superstar Rajinikanth delivered a speech that deeply angered local political supporters. As Rajinikanth left the venue in a jeep, an unruly, violent mob swarmed his vehicle, pelting it with stones and trapping him inside. The mob represented the government, the rule of the unjust, that Rajinikanth has criticised.
Seeing the imminent danger, veteran actor-director K. Bhagyaraj courageously intervened. He strictly scolded the passive and scared police officers on the scene, demanding they do their duty. Thanks to Bhagyaraj’s fierce confrontation, the police finally swung into action, cleared the hostile crowd, and safely escorted Rajinikanth home unharmed.
Rajinikanth publicly shared this untold story decades later, honoring Bhagyaraj for saving his life that day. Reflecting on the dramatic rescue years later, Rajinikanth stated, “I can never forget that day. He didn’t just save me from a mob; he showed what it truly means to stand up for another human being”.
The Philosophy of Bravery over Fear in ‘Papa the Great’
Presented as a comedy, the story follows Jai Prakash (played by Krishan Kumar), a meek, non-confrontational engineer whose young son, Sonu, heroically brags to everyone that his “papa is great”. However, Jai’s submissive life takes a dark turn when he witnesses a cold-blooded murder committed by a ruthless local gangster. Forced to find his inner courage, Jai must shed his cowardly nature and stand up to the criminal underworld to protect his son’s innocent perception of him and deliver justice.
But this is something more than a mere entertainer. The film is dedicated to Gulshan Kumar, the founder of T-Series. This man was shot dead on August 12, 1997, outside a Shiva temple in a targeted attack linked to the Mumbai underworld and the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Gangsters controlled the Hindi film industry at this time. This film against gangsters is asking for courage to stand up against injustice, just like the director stood up for justice against the unjust representing the government, the unjust that tried to rule through fear.
The philosophical lesson begins at the outset from a long quotation by Swami Vivekananda, one of the most important Indian thinkers of modern times and someone who helped to instigate the Indian Nationalist movement (my translation):
Darr hi dukh ka karan hai
Fear is the cause of suffering
Darr hi vinash ka karan hai
Fear is the cause of destruction
Darr hee mrityu ka karan hai
Fear is the cause of death
Hum darr ka anubhav isliye karte hai
We experience fear because
Kyunki hum apne atmabul ko nahein pechanti hai
We do not recognise the strength of our own spirit
In the film, the coward father’s name is perhaps associated with Jai Prakash Narayan (1902–1979), a revered Indian independence activist, social reformer, and political leader often called Lok Nayak (Leader of the People). While he is a coward himself, he tells stories to his son about his own bravery, hoping to inspire bravery in his son (his son has my name at home, Sonu, which means ‘handsome’ or ‘like gold’). The father trains his son in martial arts. The father’s greatest fear is that his son will become a coward like he is himself.
Because of his son’s demand for the bravery he has heard about but never seen, Jai is forced into confrontations with gangsters where he acts like a hero. And his son makes Jai promise to the a grieving mother and son that he will break the arms of the gangster that killed the mother’s husband and the son’s father (a policemen and The Law). In the ending of the film, Jai has to deliver his promise to The Mother and throws the body of the gangster with broken arms at The Mother’s feet, proving himself to be a Protector of the Law, proving that he can fulfill The Mother’s revenge.
What then is the philosophy of protection? The gangsters inspire fear in the actor and the storyteller Jai, just like they historically inspired fear in the actors and directors (storytellers) in the Hindi film industry. The film shows that you cannot fear, that you cannot be ruled by fear. You have to retaliate with bravery to inspire the future generation to have courage. You have to stand up for yourself and for others to preserve the law and have the right to tell stories about heroism.
In a scene to do with a celebration about Shiva (harking back I argue to the felicitation of the actor Sivaji Ganesan, named after the god, and Gulshan Kumar who was killed outside a temple for Shiva), a character called Biharilal (a good gangster who does not prey on the innocent) protects Jai’s life from the gangster that wants to kill him. He singlehandedly fights with the gangster and his henchmen, risking his own life. While fighting a whole group of people is a Hindi movie staple in action scenes, this fight scene invokes the memory of when the director saved an actor’s life from an angry mob.
The words of the character who protects Jai’s life by standing up for him against everyone are what catalyse him to become a protector himself of The Law (the dead policeman). The character tells him that a female cat, when cornered, will become a tigress (remember that he is speaking to a man, so why the femininity? Because the protector in Indian culture is a woman, The Mother Goddess). He tells Jai that the gangster is just a man, like you and me. He tells him to follow this mantra in life: jigar, hosla, himmat:
- Jigar: Literally means liver or heart, but metaphorically represents guts, boldness, or raw courage.
- Hosla: Translates to morale, confidence, spirit, or encouragement.
- Himmat: Translates to courage, bravery, grit, or determination.
The character says that courage will eat up all the fear within Jai. These words, and Jai’s belief that if he runs away from the gangsters, his son will become a coward, prompt him to become the victor in the fight, to become the warrior. To risk his life against the rule of fear, the rule of the unjust, the gangsters. To risk his life to become the one that protects The Law and gives The Mother her desire, vengeance. Remember, The Mother is Kali, The Dark Mother. When the villain is thrown at her feet this invokes her dancing upon the body of Shiva as her blood lust is extinguished by him, an event that is the making and continuation of the world in the divine admixture of female and male energy.
Practising what you Preach by Standing up to the Gangsters
Storytellers imagine order. They imagine the law. In a Hindi film environment dominated by gangsters and the rule of fear, K. Bhagyaraj created a law where what it meant to be a dutiful human being was to stand up for others against everyone. Where to become the law meant to become protection for others. This was not a message of hypocrisy. It was when the preaching was of the practice that he adopted when he saved the life of Rajinikanth who was threatened by those who represented an unjust government that tried to rule through fear.
For justice to triumph, it is courage that has to become the law. Justice cannot be bought with cowardice. For justice to triumph, we have to fight against the unjust, not just tell hypocritical stories about this fight. For justice to triumph, the greatest fear must be fear itself. The fear that our children will become cowards and injustice will triumph in this world. This is the philosophy of the warrior from the warrior culture. This is the philosophy of the one that worships the Warrior Goddess, the Mother Queen.
(You can watch the movie for free on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enjqWaYWAoY)
