After Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan turns an army officer for his next with Sriram Raghavan - read details

We have seen Varun Dhawan play massy characters in most of his commercial projects. The actor, however, broke the stereotype when he played a dark character in Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur (2015). The actor reunites with the filmmaker again and this time he will be seen playing an army officer for the first time on the big screen. Varun and Sriram have joined hands for a film based on a (then) 21-year-old officer, Arun Khetarpal, who showed courage when he stood up to unrelenting attacks by the Pakistani army during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He was honoured with the Param Vir Chakra for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Dinesh Vijan will be bankrolling this film.

Confirming the news to Mumbai Mirror, the producer said, "Arun Khetarpal was one of Poona Horse's most celebrated Lieutenants. When Mukesh (his brother) narrated his story in Delhi, we were already enamoured by his bravery but what connected me more was Arun's equation with his father. The bond that one shares with one's father is usually left unexplored. I lost my father five years ago and I miss him every day. With this film, I hope to shed some light on the boy who became a man, a reflection of his father. It's a huge responsibility to make this biopic. We are indebted to the family and to the Poona Horse regiment for allowing us the honour of telling Arun's story. We hope to make them proud."

Varun Dhawan, who will play an army officer for the first time, mentioned that it was his dream to play a soldier on the silver screen. "When I heard Arun Khetarpal's story I was awed that this could have actually happened! I understood then why Dinoo (Dinesh Vijan) and Sriram are so passionate about it. When I met Arun's brother Mukesh, I was moved. I too have a brother and I can't understand what he must have gone through," said Varun. The actor added that this is an important film of his career and he's really excited to work with Sriram Raghavan again.

In conversation with the same leading daily, Sriram revealed that he spent months to research and develop the story. He said, "The courage of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal during the 1971 Battle of Basantar is well known. I was a kid during the '71 war but I remember pasting black paper on windows during blackouts. When Dinoo approached me to make a film on the subject, I found it daunting initially. But movies set in wartime have always moved me and this made me reconsider my decision. This is a solid story told over two generations of soldiers and we hope we can do justice to it."

We just hope that Varun Dhawan and Sriram's film works wonders on the big screen.

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