Border made me relate to the armed forces: Deol

Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri’s loud and clear voice, dignified gait and undying love for the country stays in the mind for long, every time one watches the 1997 blockbuster, Border. The character, played by Sunny Deol, is also close to the 59-year-old actor’s heart. In a chat with us, Deol recalls being part of the multi-starrer, based on true events from the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. Playing an army officer, police, or a spy, living a life dedicated to our country is always special. However, Border will always be different as it is a film depicting the realities of the war in its truest essence. While I did not have to do any special preparation to play Major Kuldeep (now retired as Brigadier Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri), what I did was to live in the moment and be a proud Indian. Border never needed a reason for me to say yes. I was 14 years old at the time of the war. I remember the sound of the sirens and then, the fighter planes taking off. I grew with the civilian perspective of the 1971 war; but being a part of Border introduced me to the realities of the war from the Army perspective. I’ve always respected our armed forces, but Border made me relate to them and respect them more with pride. For the film, we spent about a month in Bikaner and become more like one big family working together. I have many fun and emotional memories from those days. Filmmaking is like painting a canvas. You can just do your best, and then, only the audience can tell if they like or love what you present to them. Border was and is accepted and loved by the audiences, as it was a whole hearted attempt to recreate reality for people to live those moments forever.