Sunday, August 3, 2008

A Real Life Hero Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri

Border is a 1997 blockbuster Bollywood war film based on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. J P Dutta directed and produced this war epic which stars Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Pooja Bhatt, Sharbani Mukherjee and Tabu.

The movie won numerous awards including Best Film at the Filmfare awards. Director JP Dutta won Best Director at the same award function while his father OP Dutta won Best Dialogues.

The movie is an adaptation from real life events that happened at the Battle of Longewala fought in Rajasthan (Western Theatre) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War. It is about how a band of 120 soldiers of the Punjab regiment of the Indian Army headed by Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri successfully defended their post all night against a whole Tank regiment of the Pakistani Army, until assistance came from the Indian Air Force the next morning. The fim was critical and commercial hit in India.

Cast:
Sunny Deol - Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri
Jackie Shroff - Wing Commander Andy Bawa
Suniel Shetty - Captain Bhairon Singh, B.S.F.
Akshaye Khanna - 2nd Lt. Dharam Vir Bhan
Sudhesh Berry - Subedar Mathura Das
Puneet Issar - Subedar Ratan Singh
Rakhi - Dharam Vir's mother
Pooja Bhatt - Kamla (Dharam Vir's fiancee)
Tabu - Kuldip Singh's wife
Sharbani Mukherjee - Bhairon Singh's wife

The film was shot on location in the desert near Bikaner where the set for the Longewala Border Security Post was put up atop a sand dune for the Indian Army portion of the film and also in Jaisalmer where the Indian Air Force portion was shot. The equipment, ammunition and weapons were all actual Indian Army equipment that were used by the Filmmakers.

J P Dutta's brother was an Indian Air Force pilot who died in a MiG crash in 1987, the film is dedicated to him. While making the film, Dutta referred to diaries he had written at the time about his brothers experiences. The movie shows many soldiers including BSF Captain Bhairo Singh and Second Lt Dharam Vir being killed. However, in real life, the Defenders at Longewala lost only 5 soldiers in the battle. Filmfare Award for Best Newcomer Role was coveted by Akshay Khanna.
Battle of Longewala
Kuldip Singh Chandpuri
LOC Kargil
Interview with JP Dutta
Longewala battle hero files defamation suit

Comments: The real life of Maj KS Chandpuri which is so different from that depicted by Sunny Doel's reel life enactment. Brig KS Chandpuri who inspired leadership and thwarted the enemy advance is all about his tactical skills and appreciation, that achieved minimum causalities to own troops.

Other posts in the Blog:
Brig KS Chandpuri shares battle experience: Indo Pak War 1971
Battle of Longewala: Indo Pak War 1971

No comments:

Disclaimer

The contents posted on these Blogs are personal reflections of the Bloggers and do not reflect the views of the "Report My Signal- Blog" Team.
Neither the "Report my Signal -Blogs" nor the individual authors of any material on these Blogs accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused (including through negligence), which anyone may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of use of or reliance on information contained in or accessed through these Blogs.
This is not an official Blog site. This forum is run by team of ex- Corps of Signals, Indian Army, Veterans for social networking of Indian Defence Veterans. It is not affiliated to or officially recognized by the MoD or the AHQ, Director General of Signals or Government/ State.
The Report My Signal Forum will endeavor to edit/ delete any material which is considered offensive, undesirable and or impinging on national security. The Blog Team is very conscious of potentially questionable content. However, where a content is posted and between posting and removal from the blog in such cases, the act does not reflect either the condoning or endorsing of said material by the Team.
Blog Moderator: Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)

Resources