Sidharth
Malhotra,
the
star
of
the
upcoming
Amazon
Prime
Video
Original
Shershaah,
has
revealed
that
the
inspiration
for
taking
on
the
role
as
the
heroic
Captain
Vikram
Batra
came
from
a
meeting
with
Vikram's
real
life
twin
brother,
Vishal
Batra,
five
years
ago.
Shershaah,
an
original
war
drama
on
the
true-life
events
of
the
Kargil
War
between
India
and
Pakistan
in
1999,
tells
the
story
of
Captain
Vikram
Batra,
a
celebrated
Indian
army
hero
who
selflessly
lost
his
life
whilst
saving
a
fellow
soldier
during
a
war
which
would
etch
itself
into
Indian
history.
At
just
24,
Vikram
became
a
symbol
of
the
patriotism
and
heroism
associated
with
India's
triumph
against
the
odds
against
the
Pakistani
army
who
took
up
a
far
more
advantageous
position
at
higher
ground
and
were
able
to
fire
down
at
vulnerable
Indian
forces.
Despite
this,
the
Indian
army
were
triumphant
in
claiming
victory
and
Captain
Vikram
soon
became
the
embodiment
of
the
courage
and
valour
shown
by
himself
and
his
army.
Sidharth
was
just
14
when
the
Kargil
War
took
place,
yet
the
story
of
Captain
Vikram's
sacrifice
would
go
on
to
inspire
him
to
spearhead
efforts
to
launch
a
film
on
his
efforts
over
twenty
years
on.
A
meeting
with
Captain
Vikram's
twin
brother,
Vishal
Batra,
was
instrumental
in
the
stars
rigorous
attempts
to
have
a
film
on
the
Kargil
War
told
across
the
world.
Sidharth
met
with
Vishal
and
was
told
of
Captain
Vikram's
incredible
personality,
courage,
patriotism
and
of
course
about
the
selflessness
which
would
eventually
see
him
lose
his
life
for
his
country
-
something
he
says
inspired
him
greatly
Sidharth
revealed,
"I
first
met
with
Vishal
Batra
around
five
years
ago,
at
the
time
with
a
completely
different
team.
He
and
his
family
had
approached
me
to
discuss
the
potential
of
telling
Vikram's
story
and
I
must
say
I
was
immediately
gripped
emotionally
by
the
way
Vishal
described
Vikram's
life
and
his
character
-
his
charm,
his
courage
and
his
all-round
personality."
He
continued,
"We
couldn't
make
it
work
at
the
time,
but
it
was
a
story
I
believed
needed
to
be
told.
I
approached
Dharma
Productions
and
they
were
immediately
on
board
and
5
years
on
we
are
so
pleased
with
the
end
product."
Maintaining
a
sense
of
authenticity
and
justice
to
Vikram's
story
was
important
for
Sidharth,
who
admits
there
is
always
a
sense
of
pressure
when
it
comes
to
portraying
the
character
of
a
national
hero
in
a
sensitive
way.
"Vikram
and
I
are
both
Punjabi
and
culturally
of
course
we
have
several
similarities,
perhaps
right
though
to
our
appearance.
I
believe
this
is
why
his
family
sought
me
to
play
his
character.
But
it
is
one
thing
possessing
the
physical
and
background
traits
and
another
to
accurately
portray
his
personality.
I
feel
meeting
with
Vishal
helped
with
this
greatly
-
the
descriptions
he
used
about
his
twin
were
incredible,
it
really
helped
me
to
take
on
some
of
his
courage
and
strength," the
actor
revealed.
Having
formed
a
relationship
with
Vikram's
family,
and
his
brother
in
particular,
Sidharth
was
pleased
to
hear
that
they
felt
the
film
was
the
perfect
representation
for
his
legacy.
"Doing
his
family
proud
was
the
priority
for
me,
not
commercial
success.
We've
been
on
this
five
year
journey
together
and
It
was
vital
we
got
this
right.
Vishal
told
me
that
he
had
never
visualised
his
brother
on
the
battlefield
before,
but
now
when
he
sees
me
in
Shershaah
he
can,"
he
concluded.
Directed
by
Vishnuvardhan,
Shershaah
is
inspired
by
the
life
of
Captain
Vikram
Batra
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,
the
film
is
slated
to
premiere
across
240
countries
and
territories
on
August
12
exclusively
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.