Who was Vikram Batra, the hero of Kargil War, who continues to inspire Bollywood?

Today marks 26 years since Captain Vikram Batra, the Indian solider, was martyred during the Kargil War.

Captain Vikram Batra PVC was an Indian Army officer. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration, for his actions during the Kargil War. On 7 July 1999, Batra was martyred while fighting Pakistani troops at Point 4875 in the Kargil district of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir. He has a twin brother Vishal Batra. Vikram Batra was engaged to Dimple Cheema.

Movies on his life

Abhishek Bachchan and Sidharth Malhotra modelled their characters on the captain in LOC Kargil and Shershaah. Shershaah was the code name given to the Indian soldier when the nation was at war in 1999. His line that continues to live was- ‘Tirange mein lipta hua aaoonga ya lehrake aaoonga.’ 

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“Param Vir Chakra, Captain Vikram Batra, it’s been 25 years since your fearless actions and ultimate sacrifice made history. Your legacy to this day remains the highest ideals of bravery and honor,” Malhotra captioned an archival photo of Captain Vikram Batra on X last year.

“We remember and honor you today and always for ‘Yeh Dil Mange More’. Jai Hind #CaptainVikramBatra #25YearsOfKargilVijay #Kargil,” the actor wrote in his post.

The Hindi film received an overwhelming response from the critics as well as the audiences for its heartfelt story and soulful songs such as “Raataan Lambiyan” and “Mann Bharryaa”.