Shershaah: Despite Article 370 revocation, Sidharth Malhotra begins second schedule for Vikram Batra biopic in Kargil

Sidharth Malhotra will be essaying the role of Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra in the upcoming biopic,  Shershaah.  The actor kickstarted the second schedule of the film this week and has arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on 6 August (Tuesday), according to Mumbai Mirror .

Home Minister Amit Shah had on Monday announced that  Article 370 , that grants J&K special status, will be revoked amid major ruckus in the Rajya Sabha. Under the proposed law, J&K will be made a Union Territory now with legislature, and not a state. Ladakh was also announced as a Union Territory, but without legislation. J&K was also put under  unprecendented lockdown , leading to restriction in movement and blocking of phone lines and the Internet.

Mirror writes that the makers of Shershaah had been granted permissions, much before the announcement of this decision.

Shabbir Boxwala, who is producing Shershaah alongside Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions told Mirror, “There were reports of unrest but by and large, there is no problem at all. Places like Kargil, Leh, Ladakh and even Jammu are calm, that’s what I heard from some of the army officers I spoke to. Only Srinagar is a little tense, but we’re optimistic it will also ease out in the coming days. That’s also why we moved our cast and crew from Leh.”

Shabbir further told the publication that the crew will be there till 15 September and they will shoot in Kargil and the Mushkoh valley. He said that they will film action sequences, war portions and Vikram’s initial days after his recruitment and subsequent posting in Kargil.

The first schedule of Shershaah was in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh’s Palampur, which was Vikram’s hometown. The film, directed by Vishnu Varadhan, stars Kiara Advani as the female lead.

Sidharth has an upcoming release, the romantic comedy Jabariya Jodi alongside Parineeti Chopra. This is the second time that the two actors will be seen sharing screen space after having worked together in Hasee Toh Phasee.