From real to reel

Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Jimmy Sheirgill and Satyajeet Dubey

Filmmakers have always had a penchant to showcase real-life stories on screen, especially, if the story is one that has all of India burning with rage. Early in February 2019, news of a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district targeting a convoy of vehicles that killed almost 46 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) personnel, stirred widespread anger. Few weeks later, on February 26, Indian warplanes air bombed a terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan. While conspiracy theorists claim that it was a state-sponsored attack to turn the general elections in favour of the ruling party, official statements termed it as a retaliation to the Pulwama attack. Immortalising the sacrifice of the men in uniform, director Santosh Singh of Broken But Beautiful (2018) fame, is now making a series, Grey Wars, on the Balakot airstrikes.

While it is still unclear who will play Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman - the air force pilot who was captured by Pakistan and released after 60 hours - Singh has roped in Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Jimmy Sheirgill, Satyajeet Dubey, and Ashish Vidyarthi to play pivotal roles in the film. The main crux of the series will be centred around the Balakot airstrike, but it will also throw light on other peripheral aspects. "The show will include several other aspects apart from the Balakot strike itself, which is a high point of the narrative," says the source, adding that the Viacom18-produced series will be shot in and around Kashmir and a few other locations in the country. "The series is set to go on floors next month," confirms the source.

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Grey Wars is not the first screen adaptation of the air strike. The theme was set in motion with Vicky Kaushal's Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), which was a
sleeper-hit. Later in December, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Abhishek Kapoor, Bhushan Kumar, and Mahaveer Jain announced their joint production for a film on the same subject.