Harshada Rege (DNA; December 19, 2018)

Uri: The Surgical Strike brings to light what happened during the Indian army’s surgical strikes against Pakistan as a retaliation for the Uri attack in 2016. Since the actual defence operation took place in the night, a majority of the portion had to be shot after the sun went down. Director Aditya Dhar says, “Yes, since the actual attacks happened in the night, we had to shoot a majority of the portions after sunset so that the portrayal was as real as possible. The last 40 minutes of the film are about the attacks.”

Shooting in the night came with its own set of challenges for the cast, which includes Vicky Kaushal, Mohit Raina, Paresh Rawal and Yami Gautam, as well as the crew. Aditya adds, “It was extremely difficult not only because it was a night shoot but also because we were filming action sequences. Moreover, the location was in the forest areas with low temperatures. So, for the crew, it was physically demanding and mentally exhausting. But everybody worked in sync as we were focussed on representing the Indian army in the truest way possible.”