A special meeting was held at the Indian YMCA in London on 9 October 2025 to mark the official launch of the forthcoming feature film Freedom Friends, set for release on India’s Independence Day, 15 August 2026. The event, attended by a distinguished audience of community members and invited guests, featured a preview of the documentary Dear Krishna, created as a prelude to the full-length motion picture.
Speakers at the event included Rishi Madlani, Councillor at the London Borough of Camden; Tim Langford, the co-writer of the film; Pratik Dattani, founder of Bridge India; and Leonard Salins, CEO and General Secretary of the YMCA Indian Student Hostel London. The evening was also attended by Mr Jolly Lonappan of Jollywood Movies and R. Sarath, the film’s renowned Indian director.
Most Indians associate the independence struggle with leaders working inside India, but few realise that a powerful campaign for freedom was also fought in London itself. Freedom Friends shines a light on this lesser-known front — the one led by V. K. Krishna Menon and his circle of British allies through the India League.
The film, a two-hour English-language historical drama, is an India–UK co-production directed by R. Sarath and co-written by Tim Langford. It offers a new lens on Menon’s life as a lawyer, academic, councillor, activist, and diplomat — a man who turned Britain into a base for India’s liberation movement.
Menon’s London Years — Councillor, Lawyer, and Voice for India
Born in Calicut (Kozhikode) in 1896, Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon arrived in London in the 1920s for higher studies at the London School of Economics and Middle Temple. But his student years soon transformed into a mission to win independence for India.
From 1934 to 1947, he served as a Borough Councillor in St Pancras, a north London district — an extraordinary role for an Indian under colonial rule. As a councillor, he worked tirelessly for social reform, housing, and education, while using his platform to advocate for Indian self-rule.
As Secretary of the India League, Menon mobilised opinion across Britain, forging relationships with Labour Party leaders, intellectuals, and journalists who would become India’s allies in the freedom struggle.
Menon’s strategic vision helped lay the foundation for India’s institutional presence in Britain. He was instrumental in acquiring the building that now houses the Indian High Commission near Aldwych and in establishing the Indian YMCA, which became a social and cultural hub for Indian students and professionals in London. These achievements reflected his foresight that India’s global identity must rest on education, dignity, and international friendship.
Friend and Ally of Nehru and Gandhi
Menon’s unyielding work brought him close to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, both of whom recognised his brilliance and persuasive power. Acting as a vital link between Indian leaders and British sympathisers, he ensured India’s freedom movement had a respected voice in the heart of the empire.
After independence, he was appointed India’s first High Commissioner to the UK, marking a triumphant conclusion to his long struggle on British soil.
‘Freedom Friends’ — Menon’s Personal Side
The film is expected to show glimpses of Menon’s personal side — his private relationships, inner battles, and emotional complexity — revealing not only the reformer and diplomat, but the man behind the mission.
As India approaches its 79th Independence Day next August, Freedom Friends will remind audiences that part of that hard-won freedom was partly fought and won right here in London.
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