Near Maymo, Burma

1944

Rani Jhansi Regiment finds Sodhi’s camp and his men. Most of them are sick and on the brink of death.

Maya is glad to find Sodhi alive and hugs him. But Sodhi is still shaken and a look of helplessness is plastered on his face. He tells her of the hunger he and his men have faced. He further tells her that Arshad’s wounds are filled with maggots and he is sick of seeing dead bodies of his comrades everywhere. We learn Sodhi is suffering from survivor’s guilt.

Maya takes Sodhi to a secret cave. She takes out some letters hidden under a statue of Buddha and gives it to Sodhi to read. In these letters she had confessed her feelings for Sodhi and how lifeless she felt all these days when she was away from him. They sleep together.

The next day, the sounds of bombs wake them. When Maya and Sodhi reach their camp they learn that the British army has initiated surprise air strikes and are also advancing towards their already destroyed camp. Sodhi has to make a decision now. Either face the British Army or retreat to Rangoon. INA soldiers start to mutiny. They don’t want to fight anymore. Even Arshad tells Sodhi to retreat and tells him that they are low on ammunition and that the Japanese are not going to help them.

Sodhi gets angry. He admonishes his men for even thinking about retreat. He tells them a retreat will make the sacrifices, of all the soldiers who have died for their country, go in vain. He motivates them and tells them not to be afraid of dying.

Rani Jhansi Regiment is given orders to take the wounded soldiers to Rangoon. Sodhi and his men prepare for their upcoming battle with the British Army. Maya and Sodhi share one last look of despair. 

INA reaches a bombed and dilapidated town. Arshad informs Sodhi that a large British Army along with tanks is coming their way. INA takes positions. They bomb the bridge when the British tank is passing through and the battle begins. INA is on the back foot. They fight bravely but they are low on both men and ammunition in comparison to the British army. Sodhi gets hurt by the military tank’s bombing. As he is on the brink of unconsciousness, he sees Arshad dropping a grenade on a tank and getting blown apart in the process. Sodhi sees dead bodies all around him and is soon captured by the British Army and is made a prisoner.

End of Flashback.

India-Burma Border

1996

Sodhi recognises a path while going through the forest. Amar follows him and soon Sodhi finds Maya’s secret cave. When Sodhi finds the letters that were still hidden under the Buddha statue, he reads them, gets emotional and starts crying.

Amar and Sodhi start walking towards the school Rani was taking them to. A voice over of Maya’s letter begins as they reach the school hidden in the forest. We learn that Maya was afraid of getting caught by the British army spies so she had changed her name to Janki and had opened a school for girls in Maymyo.

Sodhi enters the school and sees the picture of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and then sees a picture of Maya in her INA uniform next to it. Maya’s picture has a garland of flowers on it and beneath it, incense sticks were lit. Sodhi breaks down into tears. Rani enters the scene and tells him that the last time the Army had jailed Janki she had returned home very sick and had died soon.

Sodhi goes to Maya’s room and finds his picture there. Sodhi continues his story of what happened after he was taken prisoner by the British. He tells Amar that Indians started protesting against the British treatment of INA soldiers and demanded their freedom. Even the Royal Indian Navy went on mutiny for the INA.

In 1947, Sodhi got out of prison and learned that due to the partition, his house and family were in Pakistan. He was now a refugee in his own country. In 1952, he went back to Singapore to find Maya and later even tried to cross the Burma border to find her.

Rani tells Amar and Sodhi that the Burmese army is closing in on them and might even check the school to find them. They run towards the Indian border, which requires hiking through a waterfall. Sodhi breaks his leg in the process. Amar refuses to leave him behind. Sodhi tells him that if they wait for him everyone will die, he convinces Amar to cross the border and ask the Indian Army for help.

Amar and Rani leave as the Burmese army surrounds Sodhi, who is hiding behind a rock. He tries to hold his front by firing the remaining bullets he has. In the end, he dies from a grenade thrown by the army. 

We see him and Maya meet in the afterlife.

What a heart-breaking end to this epic tale of sacrifice and patriotism. I really wanted him and Maya to finally meet in the present timeline but when I saw the garland on Maya’s picture, all my hopes died. 

The episode ends with some of the facts from the aftermath of the release of INA soldiers. We learn that not a single one was reinducted in the army of free India. Despite petitions and letters, the government refused to give pensions to the surviving INA soldiers. 

The title of the show makes sense now. INA really is the forgotten army. They gave their everything for the love of their nation while their nation branded them as traitors and now doesn’t even remember their sacrifice.

I really liked this series and the way current and the past storylines were merged in the end.

Episode Rating 5/5