When
Sidharth
Malhotra
first
came
to
learn
about
the
intricate
details
of
Captain
Vikram
Batra's
life
through
the
war
hero's
twin
brother
Vishal
Batra,
he
instantly
knew
that
Shershaah
was
a
story
which
simply
must
be
told
to
audiences
around
the
world.
It
was
five
years
ago
that
the
Bollywood
actor
was
first
approached
by
Vishal
with
a
view
to
playing
his
brother
Captain
Vikram
Batra,
the
late
national
hero
who
sacrificed
his
life
for
his
country
during
the
fiercely
contested
Kargil
War
between
India
and
Pakistan
in
1999.
Though
at
the
time
Sidharth
and
Vishal
were
unable
to
finalise
the
details
with
a
production
team
for
the
biopic
on
Captain
Vikram,
it
was
Sidharth's
persistence
and
dedication
to
have
the
story
told
which
resulted
in
Shershaah
coming
to
fruition
five
years
on,
when
Dharma
Productions
jumped
at
the
opportunity
to
kickstart
proceedings.
"I
was
instantly
gripped
by
Vishal's
account
of
his
brother.
I
knew
of
Captain
Vikram
but
only
from
afar
as
a
teenager
growing
up
during
the
war.
It's
only
when
you
listen
to
the
true
courage
and
strength
of
the
man
that
you
feel
an
instant
connection
and
dedication
to
sharing
his
story
with
everyone
that
you
meet
-
because
every
Indian
should
take
pride
in
his
heroism
and
patriotism.
I
told
Vishal
that
we
would
not
stop
in
our
endeavours
to
have
Captain
Vikram's,
and
the
rest
of
the
Indian
army's
Kargil
War
story
told.
Five
years
on,
I
approached
Dharma
Productions
and
they
were
immediately
on
board
and
we
are
so
pleased
with
the
end
product",
said
Sidharth.
However,
preparations
for
a
role
of
this
nature
were
somewhat
new
to
Sidharth,
with
the
physical
demands
of
Captain
Vikram's
character
a
far
cry
from
his
previous
starring
roles.
Filming
for
Shershaah
maintained
a
high-level
of
authenticity
throughout,
meaning
the
characters
had
to
quite
literally
learn
the
basic
training
of
an
armed
soldier
fighting
at
the
challenging
altitudes
poised
by
the
Kargil
territory:
"When
you
sit
and
meet
the
family
and
friends
of
a
man
like
Vikram,
you
realise
the
importance
of
telling
his
story
with
the
utmost
sincerity
and
authenticity
as
physically
possible.
To
do
otherwise
would
be
an
injustice.
But
in
doing
so,
you
realise
just
how
challenging
the
Kargil
War
was
from
the
perspective
of
terrain
and
altitude!",
explained
Sidharth.
(Exclusive)
Sidharth
Malhotra
On
Shershaah:
Playing
A
Soldier
Is
A
Difficult
And
Soul-Altering
Experience
"We
were
the
first
to
shoot
a
film
in
Kargil,
about
the
Kargil
War.
It
was
common
for
the
cast
to
lose
their
breath
at
such
high
altitude
and
we
did
intense
drills,
practiced
etiquette,
body
postures,
body
language
and
weaponry
training
in
order
to
really
get
into
the
character's
persona.
We
wanted
audiences
to
feel
as
though
they
were
genuinely
looking
back
on
the
events
of
the
famous
war
which
saw
India
triumph
against
all
odds.
"If
we
fell
on
the
road,
which
myself
and
my
co-star
Shiv
Panditt
did,
we
risked
infections
with
open
wounds
which
would
take
over
a
week
to
heal.
Given
the
schedule
of
the
film,
we
simply
didn't
have
time
to
allow
the
cuts,
bruises,
aches
and
pains
to
heal
-
but
honestly,
when
you
are
there
in
Kargil
you
feel
as
though
the
strength
of
the
army
is
there
in
spirit,
driving
you
on.
You
don't
want
to
stop...
you
know
they
didn't
have
that
option",
he
added.
Spending
time
with
army
professionals
to
learn
the
basic
training
and
tactics
of
the
Indian
Kargil
War
heroes
is
tantamount
to
Sidharth
Malhotra's
reiterated
dedication
to
the
Batra
family
in
having
Vikram's
heroic
story
told
in
the
best
possible
fashion,
leaving
no
stone
unturned.
Speaking
on
the
reaction
from
Vishal
to
the
final
product,
Sidharth
expressed
his
pleasure
in
hearing
that
the
brother
of
Vikram
had
felt
the
film
had
done
the
Kargil
war
heroes
justice:
"Vishal
has
seen
the
movie
and
I
cannot
describe
how
proud
it
makes
me
to
hear
that
he
is
extremely
happy
with
how
the
movie
depicts
his
brother's
story.
He
was
instrumental
in
advising
the
production
team
and
for
that
we
are
so
grateful.
"To
have
a
platform
of
Amazon
Prime
Video's
stature
premiering
this
film
across
240
countries
is
truly
magnificent.
We
are
so
grateful
that
we
can
share
the
Shershaah
story
to
audiences
around
the
globe
and
we
hope
that
Captain
Vikram's
story
inspires
everybody
who
watches
it".
Sidharth
Malhotra
And
Kiara
Advani
Pose
Together;
Katrina
Kaif
Calls
Them
'Cuties'
Directed
by
Vishnu
Varadhan,
Shershaah
is
inspired
by
the
life
of
Captain
Vikram
Batra
(PVC)
and
stars
Sidharth
Malhotra
and
Kiara
Advani
in
the
lead
along
with
Shiv
Panditt,
Raj
Arjun,
Pranay
Pachauri,
Himanshu
Ashok
Malhotra,
Nikitin
Dheer,
Anil
Charanjeett,
Sahil
Vaid,
Shataf
Figar,
and
Pawan
Chopra
in
pivotal
roles.
Jointly
produced
by
Dharma
Productions
and
Kaash
Entertainment,
Shershaah
will
premiere
across
240
countries
and
territories
on
12th
August
2021
exclusively
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.