Kurukshetra
Hit maker Major Ravi and Mohanlal is coming up with another war saga titled 'Kurukshetra' for the season. Another recreation of history and on the effects of war on soldiers, `Kurukshetra' is the third venture by the former army officer Major Ravi. His earlier films like `Keerti Chakra' and mission 90 days were also based on his personal experiences that he had while serving in the armed forces.
`Kurukshetra', in fact a big-budget movie, made at a whooping budget of eight crores, is an account of the filmmaker's experiences when he was fighting for India at the Kargil borders. Produced by Santhosh Damodaran under the Damor Films banner, the majority of the movie was shot at actual locations in the high altitudes of Kargil and Tololang hills, with the special permission from the defense ministry. The shooting, which began on June 13 with a 130-member crew, was completed in 35 days.
Indian in its entire history after independence have never ventured on attacking or capturing parts of Pakistan, though it was never a big thing for our forces. We were forced to defend ourselves on many a occasions which resulted in a few wars in the sixties. The Kargil war resulted following the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC), between the two countries. India immediately responded announcing a "war-like situation" and recapturing strategic transportation routes, thus militarily surprising the original plan and pushing Pakistani forces back across the Line of Control. By the time when the war ended in July 1999, more than 500 of Indian troupes were lost in Kargil while more than five thousand of Pakistani infiltrators were also killed. `Kurukshetra', earlier titled as Kargil, will feature all the phases of this Kargil war. The movie's highlight also includes the real war practice sessions of the Indian Army.
"The film is all about how the Kargil war started, how it ended and what it was for," comments Major Ravi. 'Kurukshetra', would be totally different from the films that came out on stories on the border, Here Mohanlal is a Colonel, who operates with tolerance and the determination to protect his compatriots'' adds the major.
The movie will portray soldiers as human beings, not as elements for raising patriotic vigor. The movie will showcase the struggles of soldiers who are forced to work at high altitudes and also take a close look at the families of those fighting at the front.
Mohanlal will be in the same character that he played in their previous hit 'Keerthi Chakra', Major Mahadevan who is now a Colonel. The movie will present how colonel Mahadevan put in charge to lead the troops aiming to reclaim the land grabbed by Pakistani soldiers in the Kargil valley ,manages to do it with right amount of patriotism, dignity , vigour and character .
The story, dialogues and screenplay of `Kurukshetra' are penned by the director major Ravi. The movie will present ten commandos as the trusted aides to the characters played by Lal. Also in the cast of the movie are Siddique, Biju Menon, Cochin Haneefa, Binish Kodiyery and Sooraj Venjaramoodu. Kannada star Tanya Singh and Nehak Bhatia are the leading ladies of the movie .The movie is Cinematographed by Lokanathan. The film has four songs, written by Girish Puthencherry and set to music by debutante Siddarth Vipin.
`Kurukshetra', will grace around hundred theatres by the first week of October.