July 26, 2017 marks 18 years of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The war took place in 1999 between India and Pakistan and our soldiers were martyred while saving the country. Paying tribute to the martyrs, here’s taking a look at some of the best movies, which depicted the war on big screen.
LOC Kargil : 2003
Directed by JP Dutta, this film with an ensemble cast including actors Sanjay Dutt, Ayyub Khan, Suniel Shetty, Saif Ali Khan and Abhishek Bachchan among others, was based on Operation Vijay. Based on the story of Indian soldiers at Kargil and their war efforts against Pakistan, it is one of the longest-running films in the world with a screenplay of four hours and 15 minutes. It is also believed that real ammunition and weapons were used in this movie. While real Bofors FH-77B artillery were shown in the film, the firing sequences were stock footage. Talking about the sentiment of the film, Dutta said in an interview, “It was the triumph of human spirit over impossible odds. The story had to be told.”
Lakshya : 2004
The film was based on a careless boy, played by actor Hrithik Roshan, whose life changes drastically after he enrols himself in the Indian Army. It shows the army’s effort to capture a peak and gain advantage over Pakistan’s army, which crossed the border. Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the film also stars Preity Zinta as a war correspondent. Interestingly, this film also has the highest crane shot ever done for a feature film, which was done on 13 October 2003 with a 24ft Giraffe crane at 17.796 ft above the Tanglangla Pass (17582 ft) in Ladakh, India.
Tango Charlie :2005
This film, starring Ajay Devgn and Bobby Deol has different war sequences, which track the journey of a police recruit [portrayed by Bobby]. The last section of the film is based on the 1999 Kargil war. Directed by Mani Shankar, the film had upset certain sections of Bodo militants of North Eastern India and he had to make an apology.
Dhoop : 2003
This family drama revolved around and was inspired by the family of Captain Anuj Nayyar, who was martyred during the Kargil war in 1999. The role of his father SK Nayyar was played by late Om Puri and mother Savita Kapoor was played by Revathi, who struggle through red tapism and corruption in the Indian judicial system when they get a hold of the petrol pump franchise offered by the government as compensation for their son’s death. The role of Anuj Nayyar was played by Sanjay Suri and his fiancee was played by actor Gul Panag. However, after much struggle, the Prime Minister intervenes in the matter and helps the grieved family get relief.
Stumped: 2003
The films draws a parallel between the 1999 Kargil War and the Cricket World Cup, which took place at the same time. Actor Raveena Tandon played the role of an army officer’s wife, whose husband is announced missing at the battlefield. It is reported that Raveena, who has also produced this film, had spent three days with soldiers during the Kargil war, which eventually inspired her to make this film. “The film is a comparison between our cricketers going into the cricket field and our soldiers going to war on the borders. During that time, our boys were dying on the battlefield but our country was more interested in what was happening on the cricket field,” the actor was quoted as saying.
Mausam : 2011
This love story between Harry (Shahid Kapoor) and Aayat (Sonam Kapoor) is a coming-of-age drama film, with a backdrop of Kargil war. Directed by Pankaj Kapur, Shahid plays the role of an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, who is called for the war just before his engagement to Sonam. The film’s release was delayed by a couple of weeks because the film initially failed to obtain No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the IAF.
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