With nationalistic fervour raging, as many as five films set against the 1971 India-Pakistan War are getting ready for the marquee
Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 13, 2019)

In the last two years, Bollywood rolled out three movies—Meghna Gulzar’s cross-border thriller Raazi; featuring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, Rana Daggubati’s The Ghazi Attack and the John Abraham-fronted Romeo Akbar Walter set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pak war with varying success. While the jury is out on the saleability quotient of the template, there are five more filmson the conflict that altered the anatomy of the Indian subcontinent—getting ready for the marquee.

Bhuj: The Pride Of India
This Ajay Devgn-starrer is modelled on Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, who was in-charge of the Bhuj airbase, which remained operational during the war, despite heavy bombarding from Pakistan. Accompanied by 50 air force and 60 defence security personnel, he reconstructed the Indian Air Force airstrip with the help of 300 women from a nearby village. The film which also features Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt as villagers, took off in Hyderabad this July, followed by a shoot in Mandvi in Gujarat. The war sequences will be the highlight of the film, for which the makers have roped in National-Award-winning action director Peter Hein. Action units from Bulgaria and Vietnam were specially flown down for the climax.


Film on Sam Manekshaw
After Uri: The Surgical Strike and Raazi, Vicky Kaushal returns to familiar ground with Meghna Gulzar’s next, on Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. The film was announced on his death anniversary in June. Shooting begins in 2021. While talking to Mirror (June 27), Vicky shared his early impressions of Manekshaw, saying, “I personally couldn’t witness his achievements, but my parents would always tell me that he was a fearless patriot with an amazing leadership quality. The first time I’d heard of him was in the context of the 1971 Indo-Pak war.”


Biopic on Arun Khetarpal
Varun Dhawan is reuniting with his Badlapur producer Dinesh Vijan and director Sriram Raghavan to play Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal. The 21-year-old officer showed great courage, standing up to unrelenting attacks by the Pakistani army. He was posthumously honoured with the Param Vir Chakra. Dinesh informs that Khetarpal was one of Poona Horse’s (his regiment) most celebrated lieutenants, while Varun admits that when he heard his story, he “was awed that this could have actually happened”.

Runway
This Vikram Malhotra production is based on a true story from the war and reportedly focuses on the destruction of an airstrip in Bhuj, along with several Indian Air Force airstrips, by Pakistani bombers. Indian authorities only had 72 hours to repair the airstrips for fighter planes to take off and land. A group of around 300 local villagers, mostly women, stepped in to help rebuild the airstrips, using local waste and cow dung as camouflage.

Navy Day
Bhushan Kumar, along with Tanuj Garg, Atul Kasbekar and Swati Iyer Chawla, is producing a film based on Operation Trident, one of the most audacious naval attacks in the world, conducted by the Indian Navy on December 4 and 5 during the 1971 war, targeting the Karachi Harbour. Navy Day in India is celebrated on December 4 as a tribute to its success. Operation Trident was planned under the leadership of Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda and masterminded by then Fleet Operations Officer of the Navy, Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani. For the first time, anti-ship missiles in combat were used in this region. The Karachi Harbour was the headquarters of Pakistan’s Navy and almost its entire fleet was based there in 1971. It was followed by Operation Python on December 8 and 9, which was another success. The film marks the directorial debut of adman Razneesh Ghai and is expected to go on the floors in mid-2020.

Sarbjit makers return with a film on a real-life story from the 1971 India-Pakistan face-off
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 17, 2017)

Sandeep Singh and Omung Kumar, the Sarbjit filmmaker duo, are gearing up to produce a film inspired by a real life incident in the coming months titled Runway. Casting is in progress.

The film flashbacks to the 1971 war when Pakistan destroyed all of India’s army bases and runways in just seven hours. There were no runways left for the Indian fighter jets to counter attack. Madhapar, a village, near Kutch, was evacuated after it was learnt that Pakistan was planning to infiltrate through land in 72 hours time.

All the men from the village were running for their lives, but one girl stood firm, refusing to abandon her land and home and leave the army handicapped. This young girl, Kundan Khatri, joined hands with nine other women, the oldest being 68 and a mentally challenged 12-year-boy. Together, they decided to make a runway with cow dung and local waste.

Once word spread of her mission, Kundan managed to rope in another 300 women. And within 72 hours, they had made an runway for army planes to took off. India went on to win the war which lead to the formation of Bangladesh.

Sandeep confirmed the news, saying, “Yes, Runway is based on the 1971 war and the courage of a lone woman who with her decision inspired several others saved India by creating this all-important runway. It’s an inspiring story and we begin shooting after the monsoon and will release the film in 2018.”

He goes on to add that they have visited Kundan’s village and met people there who knew her. “The village still worships her for her bravery. Our script is locked and we should finalise the cast in a month’s time,” Sandeep concludes.