Paltan director JP Dutta: Interactions reveal soldiers' emotional turmoil

Posters of Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal unveiled yesterday

Even though it has seen a series of A-list stars make a departure, JP Dutta's Paltan seems to be shaping up promisingly. After the maker unveiled the reel army men - Jackie Shroff, Gurmeet Choudhary, Arjun Rampal and Luv Sinha - on social media yesterday, mid-day has learnt that Dutta met the real-life heroes to learn of their struggles.

To lend authenticity to his actioner, based on the 1967 Indo-China military clashes, which saw India emerge victorious, Dutta met families of officials associated with the operation. A source says, "He [Dutta] met the family of Captain Prithvi Singh Dagar. Dagar was the officer in charge of the party laying a wire fence at Nathu La to demarcate the boundary between the two countries. This was being done at the South shoulder of Nathu La. He also met Attar Singh who was the 2/Lt then. Singh narrated the events in detail."

JP Dutta

While the director credits such meetings for adding credibility to his war films, he says it also gives him an insight into the turmoil that the families faced. "I always wanted my films to be as close to reality as is possible. They gave us factual details, and insights into what the soldiers and their families endured emotionally. With Paltan, the journey was tougher, because little is known about the [events]. Speaking to the families enhanced our film, and helped us in developing the characters of the Army men in best way possible," Dutta says.

Also Read: Gurmeet Choudhary: Dad trained me in military low crawl for Paltan

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