Shershaah: Captain Vikram Batra’s twin brother Vishal inspired Sidharth Malhotra to play titular role!

New Delhi: Actor Sidharth Malhotra will next be seen in Shershaah - a war film based on the life and times of Captain Vikram Batra. The film will premiere on Amazon Prime Video ahead of Independence Day on August 12, 2021. 

Sidharth Malhotra was aged just 14 when the Kargil War took place, yet the story of Captain Vikram’s sacrifice would go on to inspire him to spearhead efforts to launch a film on his efforts over twenty years on. 

A meeting with Captain Vikram’s twin brother, Vishal Batra, was instrumental in the stars rigorous attempts to have a film on the Kargil War told across the world. 

“I first met with Vishal Batra around five years ago, at the time with a completely different team. He and his family had approached me to discuss the potential of telling Vikram’s story and I must say I was immediately gripped emotionally by the way Vishal described Vikram’s life and his character – his charm, his courage and his all-round personality. We couldn’t make it work at the time, but it was a story I believed needed to be told. I approached Dharma Productions and they were immediately onboard and 5 years on we are so pleased with the end product”, Sidharth said.

Shershaah, a war drama on the true-life events of the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999, tells the story of Captain Vikram Batra, a celebrated Indian army hero who selflessly lost his life whilst saving a fellow soldier during a war which would etch itself into Indian history. 

At just 24, Vikram became a symbol of patriotism and heroism. The Indian army was triumphant in claiming victory and Captain Vikram soon became the embodiment of the courage and valour shown by himself and his army.

“Vikram and I are both Punjabi and culturally of course we have several similarities, perhaps right through to our appearance. I believe this is why his family sought me to play his character. But it is one thing possessing the physical and background traits and another to accurately portray his personality. I feel meeting with Vishal helped with this greatly – the descriptions he used about his twin were incredible, it really helped me to take on some of his courage and strength. Doing his family proud was the priority for me, not a commercial success. We’ve been on this five-year journey together and It was vital we got this right. Vishal told me that he had never visualised his brother on the battlefield before, but now when he sees me in Shershaah he can", concluded Sidharth.  

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Directed by Vishnu Varadhan, Shershaah is inspired by the life of Captain Vikram Batra (PVC) and stars Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani in the lead roles.

It also stars Shiv Panditt, Raj Arjun, Pranay Pachauri, Himanshu Ashok Malhotra, Nikitin Dheer, Anil Charanjeett, Sahil Vaid, Shataf Figar, and Pawan Chopra in pivotal roles. 

Jointly produced by Dharma Productions and Kaash Entertainment, Shershaah will premiere across 240 countries and territories on August 12, 2021, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.