The historical drama Mangal Pandey - The Rising was released on August 12, 2005 under the banners of Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt Ltd, TFK Films and Inox Leisure Ltd. The movie was directed by Ketan Mehta and produced by Bobby Bedi and Deepa Sahi. The actors in the major roles were Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Amisha Patel and Kirron Kher while the presence of Varsha Usgaonkar and Mukesh Tiwari supported the film. Music of the film was directed by A R Rahman and the songs were sung by Kailash Kher, Udit Narayan, Madhushree and Kavita Krishnamurthy.

It was the revolt of 1857 that laid the foundation of independence of India. Britishers regarded it as the Sepoy Mutiny but for Indians it was the First War of independence. The story of the movie is about the hero of this battle “Mangal Pandey”. The movie is important as it reveals some unknown facts about the hero that most of us didn’t actually know. Mangal Pandey ( Aamir Khan )was the man behind this important revolt; he was the one who started it all when the tolerance limit of Indians was crossed.

The movie depicts the story and the life of the hero Mangal Pandey, who offered his loyal services to the East India Company and was much skilled at the battlefield. He soon transformed from a sepoy to a hero who single handedly challenged the whole empire. The movie is the tale of friendship, love and betrayal of the era of Indian Mutiny of 1857. Mangal rescued the commanding officer William Gordon ( Toby Stephens ) who then became his friend. Mangal faced several challenges in form of a beautiful aristocrat ( Emily Kent ) and then in the form of controversial gun cartridges among the troops.

The songs of the movie are:
1.    Dekho aayi holi rang layi holi, chali picthkari uda hain gulaal
2.    Ke dil mein kasak ho magar pyari pyari, tumhari adao pe main vari vari
3.    Mangal mangal, hooo, Jage nagar sare
4.    Tera deewana hu maula, tera parwaana hu maula
5.    Rasiya
6.    Takey Takey
7.    Mangal mangal, hooo, Jage nagar sare [Agni]
8.    Mangal mangal, hooo, Jage nagar sare [Aatma]