As actor Varun Dhawan faced online trolling for his expressions before the release of Border 2, producer Nidhi Dutta says the reaction mattered little compared to the validation the film received from those it truly represents.

“Given our intent while making this film, I’m sure Varun didn’t pay attention to the trolling. His biggest victory was being appreciated by a colonel in the Indian Army,” she says. At an event Colonel Sushil Kumar Dahiya — the son of Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Hoshiar Singh and himself a serving officer —approached the actor.

“He went up to Varun and said, ‘I can’t believe how well you played my father.’ There is no bigger compliment than that. No box-office number can give you that feeling.”

The film’s success has brought a deep sense of relief to her and her family. “There’s been a lot of waterworks! My mother and father are constantly tearing up. My father doesn’t cry very often, so seeing that was not something you see too often,” she says.

For Nidhi, Border 2 carried far more than commercial expectations — it came with a sense of responsibility. “Not only the legacy of my father and telling stories of the armed forces, but also the legacy of the armed forces themselves. There was faith from the families who trusted my father and me as filmmakers to tell these stories a certain way,” she points out.

Speaking about the casting of the film, Nidhi shares a belief passed down by her father, which shaped their approach. “If you ask Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh or Ahan Shetty, they will tell you about the letter J P saab wrote to them on the first day of the shoot. He believes — and it has become my belief too — that we don’t choose the cast. The heroes who died for the country and the roles they played are the ones who choose the actors,” she shares. She believes this conviction may stem from her father’s experience while casting for the original Border in 1997.

“I don’t know which part of his journey made him believe this so strongly, but he does. Whether it’s Diljit, Varun, Ahan or Sunny, it felt preordained… they had to play these soldiers who laid down their lives for us,” she signs off.