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| Kurukshetra –a tribute to war heroes being shot in Kargil | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | June 19
Every year the anniversary of one of bloodiest ‘wars’ India has fought with Pakistan in Kargil, comes and goes by but a befitting tribute to theater of war which stirred the nation in 1999 is still awaited.
This time, however, a Malayalam filmmaker and former Army officer who has the opportunity of serving in Kargil is camping in treachery terrains of Himalayas to shoot a film on Kargil. Soldier-turned film maker Major Ravi is shooting his third movie `Kurukshetra,' in the difficult terrains of Kargil with a story based on the Kargil war with superstar Mohanlal in the lead role.
"No Indian cinema has been shot in Kargil so far and it will be a patriotic movie like my earlier ones," said Major Ravi, who had served there from 1996 to 1997. The shooting, which began on June 13 with a 130-member crew, would be completed in 35 days. Mohanlal would join the team on June 20, he said.
The story, dialogues and screenplay has been done by the director himself, whose earlier films `Keerthichakra' on the Kashmir conflict and `Mission 90 Days' on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, have won accolades.
"The film is about how the Kargil war started, how it ended and what it was for," Major Ravi said. Mohanlal's role is that of a Colonel with tolerance and the determination to protect his compatriots.
Visual splendour would be the main attraction of the cinema with a storyline also involving the feelings of the kin of soldiers serving on the border. Cinematographer of popular Malayalam films Lokanathan is handling the camera.
The film would have four songs, one of them in Hindi. Siddarth is the music director. Along with Mohanlal, Siddique, Biju Menon and Suraj Venjaramoodu are among the cast. Tanya Singh and Nehak Bhatia will be playing the female roles in the film, in which Mohanlal does not have a pair.
The film, produced by Santhosh Damodaran under the banner `Damor Cinema' would cost around Rs four crore, Major Ravi said. The movie will hit theatres during the Onam season.
Ravi's first film `Keerthichakra' on the Army's role in dealing with terrorism in the Kashmir valley had Mohanlal in the lead role. The film was a roaring success.
`Mission 90 days' casting Mammootty, which followed, told the story of the frustration of members of Special Task Force, which had to wait for a day to get orders from the top for invading the house where Sivarasan and other accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case were holed up.
Major Ravi was one of the members of the team that time. The film, however, was not a major success at the box office.
`Kurukshetra,' with the subtitle `Kargil' would be totally different from the films that came out on stories on the border, Major Ravi says.
Permission for the shooting on the Kargil peaks has been granted by the Ministry of Defence. "Shooting is going on very well and all the members of the team are in an excited mood," he added. |
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