Film Screening

Evening with Gurkha warriors

Join us for an evening with Gurkha warriors 

Join us at The Gurkha Museum for an exclusive evening of cinematic delight hosted by the internationally acclaimed director Milan Chams and actors from Gurkha Warrior (Malaya).  Enjoy highlights from this spectacular film Gurkha Warrior (Malaya), a passionate commentary from Milan Chams on the importance of promoting Gurkha heritage through the camera, and a delicious traditional Nepalese meal. 

Your ticket (£45pp) includes an arrival drink, highlights from Gurkha Warrior, the opportunity for questions and discussion with Milan Chams, and a two-course bhat (Gurkha curry). 

Your invitation 

1730 hrs – Welcome and refreshments 

1800 hrsGurkha Warrior (Malaya) highlights  

1900 hrs – question and answer session with Director Milan Chams, and opportunity about Gurkha warrior (Burma)

1945 hrs – Pre-dinner drink and two-course bhat supper 

Click here to book your ticket. 

Friends of The Gurkha Museummay claim their discount at checkout.  

Gurkha Warrior (Malaya)

Gurkha Warrior (Malaya) is a feature film based on the true story of a daring rescue by Gurkhas during the Malayan Emergency.  With his platoon scattered in the depths of the Malayan Jungles after a surprise attack by enemy forces, Corporal Birkha Bahadur must draw on his skills and expertise in jungle warfare to reassemble his men and destroy the enemy. 

Directed by ex-Gurkha Milan Chams (Intake1998) and starring ex-Gurkha, Ritesh Chams (Intake 2004), Gurkha Warrior (Malaya) had its international premiere in Leicester Square, London, and went on general release in 2023.

Watch the film’s trailer here.

Reflections on Gurkha Warrior (Malaya)

Gurkha Warrior (Malaya) is a rare film about Gurkhas BY Gurkhas!  Thulo Shyabash to Milan Chams (Gurkha veteran, Intake 1998) and his team for a spectacular, fast-paced story.  It tells one of the all too many unsung episodes of Gurkha service.     

 

Gurkhas, serving as part of the British Army, made a major contribution and significant sacrifice in the Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960, ensuring that the people of Malaya achieved independence in the way they sought, and that Malaysia could be established.  Many awards for gallantry and sacrifice were achieved, a number of which we are proud to care for at The Gurkha Museum.   

 

Gurkha Warrior is not simply a war film.  It touched sensitively on the strains and emotional challenge for wives and families waiting anxiously at home for news of their loved ones; it showed the comradeship between soldiers and their genuine love for one another.  Above all else, it demonstrated the importance of Kaida – that special blend of ethos, heritage, custom, tradition and pride, that is the bond of all Gurkhas past, present and future.”    

Dr Daren Bowyer, Director of The Gurkha Museum Trust     


“Every Gurkha is an ambassador for their heritage and their museum, The Gurkha Museum.  The Gurkha Museum is the hub for both Gurkha heritage and our identity.  It is important that the stories of our forefathers’ values and valour are remembered.  I use the film to ensure the Gurkhas’ stories are promoted to new audiences.” 

Milan Chams, Director, Gurkha veteran (Intake 1998)  


“The Gurkha Museum is home to us, where the history of Gurkhas collected and presented.  Gurkha Warrior is a film of one of the many untold stories of Gurkhas, and the stories can be found from the Museum.   The Gurkha Museum is one of the charities Gurkha Warrior is supporting. Both the Museum and the film promote and celebrate the contributions that Gurkha soldiers have made to Britain in the past, today and will continue to do so in the future.”  

Ritesh Chams, lead actor, Gurkha veteran (Intake 2004)  


Join us at The Gurkha Museum to discover the story behind the film Gurkha Warrior (Malaya)

Towards the end of the Second World War, many of the political and military groups in Malaya that the British government had supported against the Japanese occupation forces, turned their attention towards Malayan independence. Tensions rose over negotiations on future political arrangements for Malaya and resistance groups began to appear. On 16 June 1948, three British plantation managers were killed by communist insurgents and, two days later, the British enacted a state of emergency outlawing the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and other left-wing groups.  The MCP withdrew into rural areas and began launching guerrilla attacks against the Malayan Government and the British forces supporting it. This ‘Emergency’ was to last from 1948 to 1960.  

British and Gurkha troops were deployed in throughout Malaya to combat the insurgent threat, drawing on the skills which the Gurkhas had perfected during jungle fighting in Burma during the Second World War. The slow, dangerous and often unsuccessful work of tracking insurgents through thick jungle in order to find and ambush them, sometimes meant waiting weeks to capture or kill just a handful of insurgents.  

Gurkha troops formed the backbone of the British presence in Malaya in the form of the 48th Gurkha Brigade and later the 17th Gurkha Division which oversaw all British and Gurkha troops in Malaya during the Emergency. Troops from all four of the then existing British Gurkha infantry regiments (2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th Gurkha Rifles) as well as later on the newly formed Gurkha corps units such as the Gurkha Engineers, Signals and Transport Regiments, fought throughout the campaign.  

The Malayan Emergency still stands as one of the most significant events in the post-war history of the current Brigade of Gurkhas. 

The Gurkha Museum Trust is the Brigade of Gurkhas’ heritage charity (registered charity number 1169920).  The Gurkha Museum Trust is dedicated to the preservation, protection, and promotion of the heritage and culture of the Brigade of Gurkhas.   

Milan Chams has kindly offered all profits from this evening will go towards The Gurkha Museum Trust’s capital appeal, Project Kaida. To discover more about the Gurkhas’ contributions to the Malayan Emergency and to keep informed about Gurkha heritage sign up to our free e-newsletter or as a Friend of The Gurkha Museum. 

 

Purchase Tickets

Evening with Gurkha warriors

£45.00
© The Gurkha Museum Trust Winchester - Registered Charity Number 1169920 (formerly 272426)