Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani discuss Shershaah, bringing various aspects of Kargil War hero's life onto screen

The story of Shershaah, the film based on the code name for Indian Army officer Captain Vikram Batra began when the Batra family approached actor Sidharth Malhotra to bring the martyred officer’s life to screen. Malhotra plays Batra in the screen story of the life and dedication of Batra, who led a dangerous and arduous mission in mountain warfare during the 1999 Kargil War. Directed by Vishnuvardhan, Shershaah (Amazon Prime Video from 12 August) also stars Kiara Advani as Batra’s sweetheart Dimple Cheena who he was to marry after his return from war, which never happened. Malhotra and Advani spoke about their experiences in making this real-life war drama. Sidharth, do you feel a different kind of pressure when portraying a fictional character versus a real-life person? Absolutely. This is my first time playing a real-life character. The difference is that a real person and their experiences give you a precise zone to go into. Sometimes while trying to capture an emotion, actors fire mid-air and some of the emotions land and some don’t, but in a biopic, you have your target placed right there. Now as an actor has to hit the mark, emotionally or in some mannerisms or in how he dealt with relationships with his comrades or loved ones. The difference is that you have a map for a far more precise direction to take the character. This is far more challenging because in order to achieve this you need to have more nuances and more control over your craft. And the longer it took for this film to take off the more time it gave me to reach that target, whether showing Vikram Batra’s family side, his soldier side, his leadership or even his love story. Kiara, were you concerned about your own role in a film that is so much about the hero? When I read the script it impacted me very differently than most other scripts have. Firstly it is a story that is deeply moving and inspiring and has to be shared. Secondly I was most intrigued by the love story and I hope it impacts others the way it so deeply affected me. There are certain movies and certain stories in a film that you truly feel honoured to be a part of, and this film is that for me.

Did you have access to Dimple Cheena and how did you find the right beat to play the part? Kiara: Dimple’s part in Vikram Batra’s life is a very emotional one so getting the emotional beat right was most important. I did feel a sense of responsibility but also sensitivity attached to it. She is very shy and reserved and didn’t really want the limelight yet she very graciously shared her story with us and she did it all for love. We wanted to be true to the story and to be as authentic as possible. The scenes between Vikram Batra and Dimple are very authentic and most of it is based on what she shared with us. Their love story is quite filmy and I would ask Vishnu sir did this really happen, until I met Dimple and she told us everything did happen that way. We think it is filmy, but even Sid shared so many stories of what the soldiers would say in Kargil which we might think are filmy dialogues but that’s the true sentiment and cinema is so inspired by that. Sidharth, what is the hardest or most challenging aspect in embodying Vikram Batra? The hardest thing is that there is so much in his life. Even though he was only 24, there are so many layers to his life story which are impossible to capture entirely in a two-hour movie. There is his love story, his time in the army, the story within his family. As an actor, even if I am not showing you these things in chronological order I still have to imbibe the experience. For example, you will see his college life and then we jump to the army. In the film, we are not showing the time in between. So it is my job as an actor to imbibe the army training that happened in between and growth from student to soldier. Skipping time and narrative links was challenging, especially in a biopic. Fortunately, I had plenty of time and lots of material to help me get there. I also went through a lot of gruesome emotional and physical training. My blood, sweat and heart has gone into it, quite literally. I thoroughly enjoyed playing in this amazing true story and look forward to people seeing it. Kiara, what do you think it is about the women in the lives of army officers and soldiers that makes them so special? Through this film, meeting Dimple and watching videos of army wives and what they go through – their sacrifices, holding fort at home, etc – I feel Dimple represents all the family members behind those army officers through whom we see those emotions, sacrifices, the anxiety and the fight they put up back home. For someone like me who lives in a big city, far from the borders, knowledge about the frontline was limited. But now that I have been a part of this film I have understood the family’s fortitude and experienced that a little. This film is an ode to Vikram Batra, to our army men and to all their families as well.