The film Kesari Chapter 2, which hit theatres on April 18, is currently receiving a warm response from audiences across the country. Starring Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan, and Ananya Panday in lead roles, the film marks the directorial debut of Karan Singh Tyagi — a lawyer by profession. What makes this project even more compelling is its powerful narrative based on the untold story of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and the remarkable legal battle fought by lawyer C. Shankaran Nair against British colonial rule. In an exclusive conversation, director Karan Singh Tyagi shared his journey, inspiration, and the making of this impactful film.

As a director of the film, what will stay forever with you from this film ?

I am left with the feeling of those people who came to Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate Baisakhi but returned as martyrs. Their bravery will always remain in my heart. And Shankaran Nair's courage to come from Kerala and fight the case for the people of Punjab - this will stay with me forever and I also want this feeling to stay with the audience who watch it in the theaters.

How and when did you get to know about Shankaran Nair and what made you make this film?

A friend once handed me a book titled ‘The Case That Shook the Empire’, written by Shankaran Nair’s great grandchildren, Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat. As I turned its pages, I was deeply moved — the story wasn’t just powerful, it was compelling enough to change the course of my life. It stirred something so profound within me that I decided to leave behind my legal career and dedicate myself entirely to bringing this extraordinary tale to the big screen.

Were any creative liberties taken while making this film ?

As far as the story of Jallianwala Bagh and Shankaran Nair is concerned, we did not take any creative liberty. But since the case went on for four-five months or almost a year and the film is two hours long, many characters were added and the legal terminology was simplified so that more and more people could understand the story. So yes, we took a little liberty but the story is as it is.

When Dyer was laughing in the film, he looked like Hitler — was that intentional?

Actually, it was done intentionally. Simon Paisley Day, who played the character of General Dyer, acted brilliantly. We had told him that we wanted to make this character like the world's most cruel dictator - Hitler. We studied many videos and gestures of Hitler, and Simon played it brilliantly and we wanted it that way only.

Ananya Panday won hearts as Dilreet Gill, would you like to take credit for this?

I don't want to take any extra credit for this success. Ananya is an extremely talented artist. She has worked exceptionally hard to understand and play this role. She took dialect classes for more than a year to master the language and pronunciation. Not only this, she read many books, especially a book based on the poems of Jallianwala Bagh, which she absorbed. To understand the gestures and behavior of the lawyer, we also went to Bombay High Court, where she closely observed the women lawyers and understood their daily routine. The level of preparation she did for this character is the result of which today the audience is loving her character 'Dilreet Gill' so much.