Filmmaker JP Dutta on why the Indian armed forces have been his muse over the years
JP Dutta on the set of Paltan
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A quick scan at the films that have comprised a major chunk of his career is sufficient to ascertain that JP Dutta has left no stone unturned to pay tribute to the Indian Army. It is only fitting then that the filmmaker be invited by Chief of the Army Staff, India, Lt. General Bipin Rawat, for celebration in Delhi today to commemorate the Army Day.
"My love for the Indian Army can best be described by this quote [from The Dark Knight]: 'All humans die, but few have lived,'" Dutta told mid-day from Delhi last evening. "The armed forces have lived because of their defining work. What they have done for their country cannot be put into words. Protecting a country like India, which is not a conqueror, but a liberator, a democracy where every religion is accommodated, is not easy. If there was no armed force, no Army, there would be no India. Making movies for those who take bullets in their chest for us, is the least we can do."
Currently working on his next, Paltan, also based on the Indian Army, Dutta recently completed a month-long shooting schedule in Ladakh. While two songs were also canned, the unit will now begin filming the soldiers' back stories in Chandigarh. "I have returned to direction after a gap, and working on this film is a dream come true. I have completed 95 per cent of the movie." While his outings have usually revolved around the lives of the men in uniform, Paltan, he says, will focus on their personal relationships.
"The emotions we are dealing with here are more complex and varied. It's about the relationships that these soldiers leave behind and how it affects the families. Border [1997] dealt with the soldiers' love interests, but Paltan will also showcase their siblings and parents. It will also display the soldiers' brotherhood, as they save each other when at war."
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