On Kargil Vijay Diwas, what you need to know about Captain Vikram Batra, the subject of Shershaah

Sidharth Malhotra, will soon be seen as Kargil hero Vikram Batra in the upcoming film Shershaah. The film, which borrows its title from the martyr’s codename, also stars Kiara Advani as his love interest Dimple Cheema. The trailer of the film, backed by Dharma Productions, was launched on Sunday. The event was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Y K Joshi, filmmakers Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and the family members of Kargil war veterans, several soldiers and officers. Here is the trailer

Heroes live on through their stories. We are honoured to bring to you the true story of the Kargil War hero, Captain Vikram Batra (PVC). A film with a long journey for me & a real life character I am proud to play. #ShershaahOnPrime comes out on 12th August only on @PrimeVideoIN pic.twitter.com/Ca416NEbBH

— Sidharth Malhotra (@SidMalhotra) July 15, 2021

Before the event, homage was paid to the heroes of the Kargil war by Army personnel and a group of school children, who sang popular patriotic songs like ‘Chak De! India’, ‘Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon’, ‘Teri Mitti’, and ‘Ae Watan’. Who was Captain Vikram Batra? An officer of the Indian Army, fought in the Kargil War in June 1999 in the Dras sub-sector. He was instrumental in the capture of Point 5140 on the Tololing Ridge leading to Tiger Hill. At just 24, he laid down his life during the subsequent operation of Point 4875, bravely rushing forward to rescue Lieutenant Naveen Nagappa, a subaltern under Batra. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his actions during the war. Batra was born in Palampur, situated in district Kangra of Himachal Pradesh on 9 September, 1974 to GL Batra and Kamal Batra. He has a twin Vishal, and two sisters Nutan and Seema. He studied at the DAV Public School there, and then at the Central School, according to Outlook. Batra graduated from DAV College in Chandigarh, where he joined the Air Wing of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). During college he undertook a 40-day para trooping training at Pinjore Airfield, followed by a two-year stint at the Flying Club. Rediff.com writes that Batra initially planned to join the Merchant Navy at a Hong Kong-based shipping company, but later changed his mind. He joined the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun in 1996, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1997 into the 13th battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles.

The popular Pepsi commercial’s catchphrase ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ used by Batra as code to relay his capture of the Point 5140 on the Tololing Ridge, came to define the spirit of the Kargil War. Ahead of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, Batra’s father told Outlook, “I believe he was born for a cause, which he accomplished with honour and grace as a soldier should be doing in the battlefield. My wife Kamal Kanta Batra and I feel that his supreme sacrifice will always be written and rewritten as an example of patriotism and steadfast loyalty for the nation.” Ahead of Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26 July, the battles of Tololing, Tiger Hill and others were recalled and 559 lamps lit in a tribute to the martyrs at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass area of Ladakh. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)