The lockdown has most of us discovering underrated gems that we may have missed out earlier. 

One such gem that netizens have discovered during this time is the National Award-winning film, 1971, starring Manoj Bajpayee, Ravi Kishan, Piyush Mishra, Kumud Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Manav Kaul and others. 

A war drama that chronicles the escape of 6 Indian Army soldiers, captured as PoW after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the film was not a Box Office hit, despite winning the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. 

Amar Ujala

However, 13 years after its release, thanks to the power of the internet and the excess time provided by the lockdown, the film has garnered over 17 million views on YouTube in one month. 

YouTube

Director Amrit Sagar, who debuted with 1971, shared the film on YouTube a month ago, and Manoj Bajpayee tweeted about the same. 

That’s all it took for the film, which had opened to great reviews when it first released, to win over the audience. 

This clearly proves, sooner or later, well-made stories always get their due.