Mangal Pandey - The Rising ( Dvds )

Mangal Pandey [Aamir Khan] is an Indian sepoy serving Britain's East India Company. Mangal rescues his commanding officer William Gordon [Toby Stephens] on the battlefields of Afghanistan and the two men develop a friendship. The Hindi-speaking Gordon is sympathetic towards the locals, which is in stark contrast to most of his white colleagues. The story takes a turn when the British introduce a new set of rifles. To use them, the sepoys are required to bite the bullet. The paper cartridges encasing the gunpowder contain beef and pig fat. Neither Hindu nor Muslim soldiers are prepared to use the new cartridge on religious grounds. Trusting Gordon that the cartridges do not use beef and pig fat, Mangal bites the bullet, but when the sepoys learn the truth, Mangal revolts and leads a rebellion that sows the seeds for the end of the East India Company's reign.