‘Shershaah’ writer Sandeep Srivastava talks about finding a love story in the biopic of Kargil war hero

When Sandeep Srivastava began his research for “Shershah”, a biopic on the life of the late Captain Vikram Batra, the screenwriter realized that the film could not be limited to the valor of the Kargil War martyrs. Apart from being a courageous Indian Army officer, Captain Batra was essentially a man from the small hill town of Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, who fell in love with Dimple Cheema, an MA English course at Chandigarh’s Panjab University. Srivastava, whose writing credits include “Ab Tak Chhappan”, Kabir Khan’s “Kabul Express” and “New York” and the Disney+ Hotstar series “Arya”, said he wanted to delve a bit more into the story of Cheema, who played the lead role in the film. He was instrumental in the journey of Captain Batra.

Released on August 12 on Amazon Prime Video, “Sher Shah” earned praise for sensitively stitching together the life of Captain Batra, who fought till his last breath during the 1999 Kargil War.

Captain Batra and Cheema’s love story played out through Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, the film depicts the horrors of war and loss.

In an interview with PTI, Srivastava said that “Shershaah” gave him the opportunity to immortalize the life of Captain Batra on screen, which went beyond his achievements as a man in uniform.

“I realized that this is not just a war hero story, but a very sensitive[story]of a small town boy and the kind of episodes he had in his life. About everyone I met I had only good things to say, his energy. Then there was a love story. I realized that I had the opportunity to not only talk about his war heroism, but also to write this exemplary love story, Which is rare, ”said the author.

Srivastava began working on the project in 2017, officially launching it on July 26, Kargil Vijay Diwas from Dras sector of Kargil district of Ladakh, along with producer Shabbir Boxwala and Captain Batra’s identical twin, Vishal Batra.

He said his research was mainly divided into three sections – meeting the officers who worked with the martyr, spending about 10 days with Captain Batra’s family in Palampur and then going to Chandigarh to meet Cheema, who Batra did. He chose to live alone after death.

Srivastava requests Vishal Batra that he wants to talk to Cheema, who is a teacher by profession. A “very private person”, Cheema declined to meet with the author but said yes to a telephone call. But when that brief call turned into an hour-long conversation, she finally agreed to meet him.

“She realized that I really wanted to know what had happened. It was an extremely emotional experience. My respect for her grew when we started talking.”

The author said that during the meeting, he enjoyed seeing that Cheema viewed her and Vikram’s love story and the afterlife through the lens of a beautiful, nostalgic encounter, in line with the public perception of “sacrifice”. was opposite.

“She told me, ‘People keep telling me it’s a huge sacrifice that I’ve made. But, honestly, I don’t see it as a sacrifice. It’s a choice.

For me Vikram was everything. That chapter could have been with Vikram, he had it and that’s it. I’m fine with that. There is no sacrifice’,” he said, recalling Cheema’s words.

Through his love story, the screenwriter said that he wants to focus on a soldier’s personal aspirations and dreams that make him a human being.

“I knew Vikram’s story wouldn’t be complete without sharing it with Dimple. You can just focus on the war and it can be a masculine film. But the sensitive side of this soldier is attracting people. One The vulnerability of the war hero. He has love for his country and love for the girl he left behind. I understood that was his unconditional love. She was his pillar of strength.”

Directed by Vishnu Vardhan, “Shershah” is produced by? Karan JoharDharma Productions and Kash Entertainment. The film has also garnered praise for not meeting linguism despite its war backdrop. Srivastava said he wanted to avoid chest-banging as he did not personally subscribe to that ideology.

“It was a conscious decision not to go into a jingoistic zone, because they are soldiers fighting on both sides, for both countries … it is conveyed through actions.

“You don’t have to bang your chest and say, ‘This is what I’m going to do for my country.’ That’s why I wrote in the line of the film, ‘I don’t want to shout patriotism. You all are patriots, that’s why you are here.’ It was my writer’s disclaimer for all things,” he said, referring to a dialogue spoken by Malhotra in the film.