Who Is Sam Bahadur, India’s First Field Marshal, On Whom Vicky Kaushal’s Upcoming Movie Is Based

The teaser for Vicky Kaushal’s upcoming biographical war drama ‘Sam Bahadur‘ was released last weekend, and it is as compelling as it gets. The film revolves around the life of Sam Manekshaw who was India’s first army officer to be conferred the rank of Field Marshal, following his instrumental contribution in the Indo-Pak war of 1971.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, on 3 April 1914, Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was the fifth child of a Parsi couple, Hormizd Manekshaw and Hilla, née Mehta. His parents had six children, including four sons and two daughters. His father served in the British Indian Army as a captain in the Indian Medical Service during the second World War.

Initially, Manekshaw wanted to grow up to become a doctor like his father. However, in an attempt to rebel against his father, who refused to send him to London to study medicine, he sat down for an entrance exam to enter the Indian Military Academy (IMA) and became one of the fifteen cadets to be selected through open competition. His was the first batch of cadets, called ‘The Pioneers‘. The batch produced three future chiefs – Sam for India, Smith Dun for Burma and Muhammad Musa Khan for Pakistan.