Sidharth Malhotra’s near-perfect depiction of war hero Captain Vikram Batra in the new hit film ‘Shershaah’ has received a lot of praise, but there’s one thing we’d want to know more about: how Vikram was motivated to join the armed services. On his 47th birth anniversary, here’s a look back at the life of the Kargil war hero as told by his brother Vishal.
Vishal in his 2017 TEDTalk, highlighted the moment when his brother decided to join the military. Vishal discusses his upbringing with Vikram and how his brother was always destined to serve the nation.
He mentioned that his family didn’t even have a black and white television in 1987 when owning a colour television wasn’t popular. ‘Me and Vikram used to sneak out of our house every Sunday morning at 9.30 AM to one of the neighbour’s houses to watch a very popular TV show – Param Vir Chakra. It was on the life of the 16 brave martyrs who laid down their lives and got PVC after 1947. That was the time when Vikram decided that if he wishes to do anything in life, it would be to join the armed forces and serve the motherland.’
At the age of 19, Vikram Batra enrolled in the National Cadet Core at DAV College in Chandigarh, which was likely his first step toward realising his ambition. ‘He was awarded the best cadet for two consecutive years before leading a contingent of NCC Directorate at Republic Day parade in 1994. Soon Vikram joined Indian Military Academy. And rest is history,’ Vishal said during the talk.
On the occasion of the 47th birth anniversary, Vishal also shared a note for his brother along with a series of pictures. ‘A very happy Birthday dear Luv… I am blessed to be born as Kush with you my Captain Brother…While you marched past so fast to become a legend….the world remembers you as Shershaah but to me, you would always be my twin Luv first… As the nation remembers you on your special day, here’s a big hug to you wherever you are and am sure you would be enjoying your party in the other world of Life…. You are missed and fondly remembered every single day,’ the post read.
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Vikram Batra’s combat code name was Shershaah and his radio transmission success signal was ‘Yeh Dil Maange More.’ During the Kargil War, Vikram led the 13 JAK RIF to victory, capturing Point 4875, which overlooked National Highway 1. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
Also Read: Sidharth Malhotra says he is lucky to have got the opportunity to play real-life hero in ‘Shershaah’
With an IMDb rating of 8.8, the film Shershaah, which also stars Kiara Advani and was released on Amazon Prime Video on August 12, has become the most viewed film on the streaming site in India.
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