Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 4, 2018)

At around 5:30 am on September 18, 2016 four militants attacked an Indian army headquarters in Uri, Kashmir, near the LoC. In the six-hour gun battle that followed, all four militants were killed, along with 17 Indian army personnel. Another 19-30 soldiers were reportedly injured in what was perhaps the deadliest attack on security forces in the Valley in two decades. Eleven days later, on September 29, the Indian Army hit back with a pre-emptive strike against “terrorist teams” in PoK who were preparing to infiltrate and conduct terror strikes in the state and others.

Ronnie Screwvala’s next production, Uri, charts what happened in those tumultuous 11 days with Vicky Kaushal playing the commander-in-chief who spearheaded these surgical strikes. Now, Mirror has learnt that Yami Gautam has been roped in for the character of an intelligence officer who has an important role in the planning and execution of the operation.

“I’d love to meet the real-life officers, but Aditya (debutant director Aditya Dhar) has done such a fab job with his research and I’m sure he will be able to help us with all the information required for the prep,” points out the 29-year-old actress who is expected to start shooting by May-end. “This is the first time I will be playing a character who is so strong and will present me in a very different light,” she says.