Despite references to a field in the first look promo, Gowariker says his film is about achieving freedom at any cost, and not about a game Ashutosh Gowariker unveiled the first promo of his next film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (KHJJS), starring Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.

It is widely known that this is a period film, based on Manini Chatterjee's novel Do And Die.

The director describes his film as a story about a youth uprising during the British rule. However, some portions of the promo are about a playing ground.

Since the director's Lagaan was also a pre-independence film that revolved around a game (cricket), we wondered if this film too has similar tones.

Emotional connect

Gowariker explains that the 'khelein' in the title is not about a game. "The title resonates the emotion of the youngsters of the 1930s who were tired of the British rule and wanted to achieve freedom by any means."

A sequence in the promo talks about an army of teenagers extending their support to Surjya Sen, played by Abhishek, in securing a maidan (playground) from the clutches of British officers.

In Lagaan the cricket match was a symbol of the Indian revolt. Does he find similarities in both the storylines?

"Not really. The cricket match in Lagaan is quite different from the armoury raid carried out by the youth in this film. The backdrop to KHJJS is that Gandhiji had announced one year of non-violence to end the British rule.

But in 1930, that year ended and we were still under foreign governance. So Sen decides its time to act and attacks five different places leaving a scar on the British."

Saying he didn't have the liberty to create his own version of the event he adds, "Unlike Lagaan I had to stay true to the spirit of the book.

The most interesting aspect for me was that 59 of the 64 revolutionaries were teenagers. They were ready to give up their life for the country. It was the driving force for me during the making of KHJJS."