LIGHTS, CAMERA, WAR!
THE SUDDEN SURGE OF SCRIPTS CELEBRATING THE VALOUR AND SACRIFICE OF SOLDIERS CAN LARGELY BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE STUPENDOUS SUCCESS OF URI: THE SURGICAL STRIKE
Like many others, a better part of filmmaker Abhishek Dudhaiya’s childhood was spent listening to tales from his grandmother. Only, in his case, one of those tales was both true and involved his maternal grandmother, Laxmi. On December 8, 1971, at the height of the Indo-Pak war, Laxmi was one of 300 fearless women from Madhapar, Gujarat, who toiled overnight to construct a runway in Bhuj for the Indian Air Force (IAF) . The story never left him. “The beauty of the story is how civilians and the air force came together for a successful operation,” says Dudhaiya, who makes his directorial debut with Bhuj: Pride of India, starring Ajay Devgn as Vijay Karnik, the IAF wing commander in charge of the operation. The film is expected to release in August 2020.
Bhuj is only one of many upcoming projects on the life of men and women in uniform. There’s Meghna Gulzar’s biopic on Sam Manekshaw, titled Sam,
with Vicky Kaushal playing India’s first field marshal; Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl,
with Janhvi Kapoor playing the flight lieutenant who became India’s first female officer to see combat; Shershaah, in which Sidharth Malhotra plays Captain Vikram Batra, who gave up his life to rescue his junior in a battle during the Kargil War; and an as yet untitled Vivek Oberoi-headlined project on the Balakot attack. There are also two web series: one on the terrorist siege of Mumbai that began on November 26, 2011, and another on the surgical strikes in the aftermath of the Uri attack. And these follow at least two other national pridethemed films that came out this year. In March, Akshay Kumarstarrer Kesari saw him spend the better half of the film shouting to motivate his regiment of 20 Sikh soldiers to fight till their last breath after their fortress is attacked by Afghan invaders. The film became Kumar’s biggest hit until he once again motivated a team—this time, of scientists—to head to Mars in Mission Mangal.
The surge of scripts celebrating the valour of soldiers can likely be attributed to the success of Uri: The Surgical Strike.
With domestic collections of Rs 244 crore and an almost four-month-long theatrical run, it has convinced studios that there’s plenty of josh for films about the armed forces. “There’s a lot of interest in all things army, homeland security, national spirit and pride and in the authenticity of it as compared to the fictionalisation of it,” says Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment. “The stories help sensitise people about what our armed and police forces do.”
One of Applause’s upcoming projects is Avrodh - the Siege.
Based on a chapter from the bestselling India’s Most Fearless,
by journalists Rahul Singh and Shiv Aroor, Nair promises a more definitive account of the strikes compared to the multiple National Award-winning film Uri. (Disclosure: Aroor is anchor-editor on india today TV.) “There are many [unaddressed]
dynamics to the story—the preparation, the attack, the media undercurrent and the politics,” adds Nair. Shot at Bhadarwa, a border village in J&K, the cast includes Amit Sadh, Vikram Gokhale and Neeraj Kabi. And so confident is Nair of success that he has already purchased rights to more chapters from the sequel, India’s Most Fearless 2. Contiloe Productions is another studio that has adapted a book—journalist Sandeep Unnithan’s Black Tornado about the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the subsequent counter-insurgency operations—into a web series. (Disclosure: Unnithan is executive editor, india today magazine.) “The book gives readers a complete, 360 degree perspective [on the topic], which hasn’t really come out in the other projects done on 26/11,” says Abhimanyu Singh, Contiloe’s founder and CEO. “I don’t think the story of mastermind Hafiz Saeed and of the National Security Guard commandos has been told.” The longer format on streaming platforms also allows Singh to commission stories that are rarely seen on television. Singh is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that his show, which will be available on Zee5, attracts eyeballs. He has roped in international talent to adapt the book—Joshua Caldwell, a writer from Los Angeles—while director Matthew Steven Leutwyler will be in charge of the eight one-hour-long episodes. Production houses are realising the value of giving audiences real heroes to root for. Even military personnel—such as recently retired Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa—approve of Bollywood’s current affinity for war films. “I am very happy that the Indian film industry has started doing films on human endeavour,” he said. “Earlier, our endeavour was mostly ladki mil gayi (I found a girl to be with).” Today, the girl is among the ranks of warriors. Gunjan Saxena, the first of Dharma Productions’ two biopics releasing in 2020, tells the story of an IAF Cheetah helicopter pilot who flew amidst constant firing by Pakistani forces in Kargil. “She and her crew [were responsible for marking where our] bombs fell and [informing HQ]
if they were on target,” said Dhanoa. “Bomb damage assessment is very important—if the target is not hit, you have to do another strike.” Now retired, Saxena was the first female recipient of the Shaurya Chakra for her service, including the rescue of injured soldiers.
Written by Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma (who makes his directorial debut with this film), Gunjan Saxena also focuses on Saxena’s family, with Pankaj Tripathi playing her supportive father and Angad Bedi her brother, an army officer who also served in the Kargil war. “It’s not like Uri, where from the word go you know you are chasing a war,” said Mehrotra who has co-written superhit films such as Dangal, more recently Chhichhore and the upcoming Panga with Kangana
Ranaut. “It’s very much a slice-oflife film, stemming from relations and growing from point to point.”
For Dhanao, an avid collector of war films, it is essential that the narrative goes beyond the battlefield. “There are so many widows who have sent their kids to the air force in spite of losses during training or combat,” he says. “Bravery [isn’t just about] the guy pulling the trigger.” For some, this is also an opportunity to play up patriotic sentiments. ‘As a proud Indian and a member of the film fraternity, it’s my duty to highlight what our armed forces are capable of,’ said Oberoi in a statement after he announced his project. ‘There was a lot of speculation back then; this film will put all of that to rest.’ However, to do so, the filmmakers need clearance from defence personnel on the script and technical details, as well as permission from those involved in the tale. In that context, Dudhaiya says that he got approvals from around 450 people to tell their story in Bhuj.
“No civilisation can survive if people are not ready to sacrifice,” says Dudhaiya about his ambitious first film which features Sanjay Dutt as Ranchordas Pagi, who was a scout for the army. It’s a reminder that a well-rounded war film isn’t just about chest-thumping and daredevilry—what’s perhaps more important is the human cost. ■
PRODUCTION HOUSES ARE REALISING THE VALUE OF GIVING AUDIENCES REAL HEROES TO ROOT FOR