Independence Day: Celebs Share What Independence Means To Them

Ahead of Independence Day On August 15, celebrities have shared what being independent means to them.

Here's what tell JYOTHI VENKATESH:

Hasan Zaidi:

Not in the context of the nation, independence should ideally mean free expression, free speech, the freedom to practice one's religion freely.

The freedom to be able to meet, express and be all inclusive with each other. That to me is Independence.

I've always believed in nonviolence because I think violence is a very negative and useless emotion or practice nothing good ever comes out of it so for that reason Mahatma Gandhi is my favourite freedom fighter.Saare jahaan se accha Hindustan humara is my favourite patriotic song.

Sharad Malhotra:

Independence day means doing what you love and loving what you do. I believe in living life on my own terms. My favourite freedom fighter is Maharana Pratap.

I got to play his role in a TV show too. He was a real warrior. He always inspires me. I love the song rang de basanti chola.

The feeling of patriotism is always heart-touching. Pandemic has made us value life more. We should all celebrate Independence day in our respective buildings.

Himanshu Malhotra:

Independence means following your heart and standing for what is right. My film Shershah has just been released. I feel fantastic being part of such a film.

We all must value our independence. My favourite patriotic song is Ae Mere Vatan ke logo sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

My favourite freedom fighter is Subhash Chandra Bose. He was a man of principles who set an example and as a child too his story fascinated me.

Harjinder Singh:

According to me, freedom is being transparent and not being scared of judgmental eyes and social acceptance of who you are irrespective of race, colour and caste.

Even after seven decades of freedom, I feel that we are still trapped by social acceptance and social anxiety.

Accepting the true version of yourself is real freedom. My favourite freedom fighter is Bhagat Singh who fought at such a young age and sacrificed his life for the nation.

He was a warrior and was fearless. My favourite song is "Maa Tujhe Salaam" as it is very heartwarming.

Zohaeb Farooqui:

This day means a lot to me. It’s an emotional as well as proud day for us. Today whatever freedom we are enjoying, we are enjoying because of this specific day.

Because this was the day when India gained its independence and was established as a free and independent nation.

History does make us understand that there are so many people who contributed to this day. Picking one won’t be fair.

Hence, from the bottom of my heart I value and salute to all those who made this day possible for us.

Chat show host Mahreen Khan:

Independence means living your life your own way where you can breathe and think, where you can do things that you want.

It's not about boys or girls, it's about everybody. My favourite freedom fighter is Subhas Chandra Bose.

Vijayendra Kumeria:

Independence for me is having the freedom to live your life the way you want to, but at the same time being responsible for your own actions.

I have been a fan of Bhagat Singh. At a young age like his, having that kind of love for the nation is commendable. For me, he was a hero. My favourite patriotic song is "Mere Desh Ki Mitti".

Jai Singh:

Freedom is the choice to live your life doing what you want, to live where you want to, to eat by choice and to learn what your heart desires.

This means that freedom can apply to different aspects of life and that freedom is not just a term. Freedom is about ensuring respect.

After seven decades, I feel that we have become independent. We have come a long way and apart from freedom of speech, we have several fundamental rights.

My favourite freedom fighter is Bhagat Singhji. He lived like a warrior. My favourite song is "Mera Rang De Basanti Chola".

Parull Chaudhry:

Independence means everything to me. Independence is our freedom to live and speak freely, to live the life that we desire.

Freedom is actually everything. If there is no freedom there's nothing. I think it's most important for human survival. We are not animals, who can’t live in captivity.

My most favourite freedom fighter is Mangal Pandey. We've known his story, what he has done and also after watching the film on him, I think he kind of stayed in my head.

There are others, who also inspire me, Bhagat Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Chandrashekhar Azad and so on, who sacrificed their lives and fought for the country.

Their contribution is the reason why we are leading this free life. My favourite patriotic song is Vande Mataram. We've been singing it since we were children.

Way back in school, we used to start our day with Jana Gana Mana and sang Vande Mataram when school got over. For years we practiced this ritual so it's definitely Vande Mataram.

Sneh Binny:

Independence means everything to me. Freedom is everything, we are not controlled by any other power, person or country.

We Indians are controlling India and its future. The iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, is my favourite freedom fighter. He is all about unity.

If we are all united then nothing can defeat us. "Teri Mitti" and "Maa Tujhe Salaam" are the two songs that make me feel very patriotic and give me goosebumps on any given day.

Pandemic has changed the way we think about life and career. New perspectives matter.

Nivedita Basu:

Independence for me has been the independent upbringing which my parents gave for me.

If I can do the same for my child I think I'll be bringing a child in an independent world.My favourite freedom fighter is Bhagat Singh probably because studying in the North and then being exposed to so much.

I think I like the ideology that such a young guy had that spirit to make sure that his future generations were able to live in a free media.

I mean even though he shot the Britisher , he did it in honour of Lala Lajpat Rai back in that day and that was a big thing.

At 23 to be martyred without thinking about what the consequences would be so I think Bhagat Singh.

I personally like Vande Mataram for the simple reason that I've heard so many renditions of Vande Mataram. My favourite is AR Rahman's version.

Smita Dongre:

For me Independence means no compromise with your thoughts or with your inner happiness.for one's country.

When our country will get rid of castism and male- female comparison mentality that day we will proudly say we are independent.

We are in the 21st century then also every moment we are fighting for cast issues and rape cases molestation mental harrasment ect corruption is the main reason.

There are so many freedom fighters and everyone’s life is precious and everyone has sacrificed there lives for us so we cannot neglect their sacrifices so taking any one freedom fighters name is not justified.

Rani Laxmibai, Sarojini Naidu, Rajguru, Bhagat Singh etc everyone has fought for independence.

I would like to name Veer Savarkar ji and Subhash Chandra Bose for their leadership qualities. My favourite song is Sandese Aate Hai, Ye Watan Watan Mere Aabad Rahe Tu.

Delnaaz Irani:

Independence means being responsible and also following your heart at the same time. We are part of a progressive nation and we must respect our freedom fighters who got us freedom in 1947. My favourite freedom fighter is Rani Laxmi Bai. She was a warrior.

Avinash Mukherjee:

I think it's a very important day for our nation. There is not a single person in our country who doesn’t get emotional on this day when Indian flags hoist in front of us and the national anthem goes on. Any patriotic films of Akshay Kumar has not failed at the box office. My favourite freedom fighter is Bhagat Singh.

At the age of 20 he actually sacrificed his life for the country and we at 20 get depressed when a girl doesn’t say yes to us.

We should be strong headed and have a thick skin. Favourite song is Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo.

Dusshyant Wag:

Independence is freedom in every sense to be able to live life with one’s own thoughts, choices and ideologies.

To be able to express without any fear.To be able to understand people as an individual & their thoughts without any prejudice or bias.

The very first name that comes to my mind when I think of freedom fighters is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar aka ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’.

He was the Hero! He was a visionary! His bravery, his vision, his foresight was extraordinary.

Despite his immense contribution in India’s freedom fight, we unfortunately don't hear a lot about him, for whatever reason.

You will know what I mean if you happen to read about him.If he would have been in active politics after independence, India would have been on different horizons today.

There are quite a few favourite songs of mine which fall under the category of conventional ‘patriotic songs’.

But I love these creations purely on creative grounds and keep listening to them every now & then.

My love toward these songs is not restricted to just “Independence Day’ or ‘ Republic Day’.I love all the songs from ’The Legend of Bhagat Singh’ and ‘Border’. My all time favourite has been ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ by A R Rahman.