The first look of Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani starrer Shershaah has been revealed.
Shershaah, produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, is based on Captain Vikram Batra’s story. It is a narrative of bravery, valour, patriotism and inspiration.
Batra’s contribution to his country has been immense. As such, undertaking such a role for Sidharth has been equally special… Plus, it also marks his first biographical drama.
He exclusively tells Filme Shilmy: “Shershaah is a film that I’ve been talking of and trying to make for the last 2/2.5 years.
Captain Vikram Batra gave his life for India at the Kargil war and I met his family who helped me with the information.
We finally have a wonderful script together, shooting it with Dharma Productions on board and we’re really excited.”
Though Malhotra has impressed us in various films in the past like Hasee Toh Phasee, Brothers and Kapoor & Sons, to name a few, undertaking a non-fictitious character is equally challenging.
He tells us: “Even though it’s based on a real-life character, it’s far more difficult for us because it wasn’t like he was an incredibly well-known person (in that sense).
People were not so aware of his personality or mannerisms as such because it wasn’t recorded.
His other twin brother (whom I met) also gave a lot of information about him.
Eventually, we have only got an essence of his life, whether it’s his childhood or army life.”
For those unaware of the details, here is a brief background of the national hero:
He was an officer of the Indian Army who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, which is India’s highest and most prestigious award for valour, for his contribution during the 1999 Kargil War.
The Captain was from Himachal Pradesh, attended DAV College, Chandigarh and pursued B.Sc in Medical Sciences.
Later, he joined the Air Wing of the National Cadet Corps while he was in the first year and after qualifying for the ‘C’ certificate, he attained the rank of Senior Under Officer in his NCC unit.
Batra joined the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun in June 1996 and passed out in December 1997 and was commissioned as a lieutenant into the 13th battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (13 JAK RIF).
His battalion was involved in the capturing of Point 5140 and Point 4875, which is where he made his last stand.
Sidharth’s last film Marjaavaan was a box-office success, but this time, as playing such a prestigious role carries a great deal of responsibility. He describes:
“It is the first time on a personal level I feel extremely nervous living up to the family’s expectations first.
This is because he is somebody who gave his life 20 years ago and they have such amazing fond memories of this hero.
It’s about living up to their expectations of doing justice to their son is a lot of pressure. We are hoping to make a product which all can feel proud of.”
Given that Hindi entertainment has been presenting several stories about unsung Indian heroes (i.e. Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and The Forgotten Army), we are certain that this film too will do full justice.
Shershaah – which is helmed by Vishnuvardhan – releases in cinemas on 3rd July 2020.
