Director Vishnuvardhan talks about the importance of getting the research absolutely right when making films such as ‘Shershaah’
Vishnuvardhan, who has directed the upcoming biopic, 'Shershaah', based on the life of the Kargil martyr, Captain Vikram Batra, understood the responsibility, while making a film with such important context and he insists that his team were very particular about getting the facts right in the film.
"For a film like this, you need to get your facts and details right and it is more important to express it in the right way. We were careful. Hence, we took so much time. In the process of filming, we had to treat it in a cinematic way but there was a responsibility to document it as real as possible,” the 44-year-old filmmaker said.
"Though the film has taken certain cinematic liberties in presenting Captain Batra's story on the screen, the team has remained truthful in their quest," Vishnuvardhan added.
The filmmaker said that they took requisite permissions before they started making the movie, which also features actor Kiara Advani as Captain Batra's fiancee Dimple Cheema.
"Everything is transparent. I don’t think it will hurt anyone’s sentiment as the intention was to be honest. The support from the family and the Indian Army was immense. Besides, we have NOCs (no objection certificate) from them and we had two army personnel present on the sets," he added.
The movie features actor Sidharth Malhotra as Captain Batra, who was martyred while fighting for the country during the 1999 Kargil War with the Pakistan Army at the age of 24. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his valour.
Vishnuvardhan, known for directing Tamil-language films like 'Arinthum Ariyamalum', 'Pattiyal' and 'Billa', said utmost attention has been paid to document the 1999 Kargil war events in 'Shershaah' in the most honest way possible.
For Vishnuvardhan, the most exciting part about making the biographical movie was the research process. He said directing ‘Shershaah’, which borrows its title from Batra's codename, was "once in a lifetime opportunity" for him.
"His life story is so fascinating. At the age of 24, he chose to serve the nation and his journey I believe has been truly inspirational. We hope it will inspire a lot of people. It was motivating for me to explore a new world. Everything fell in place like the story, perfect casting, location, etc, the director added.
(With Inputs From PTI)