Shershaah has been the talk of B-town since its release about a week ago.
The film is an immortalisation of the love between Dimple Cheema and Captain Vikram Batra, played by Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra respectively. Spoiler alert; the two were in a committed relationship in the late 90s. Captain Vikram Batra was martyred on the battlefield during the Kargil War in 1999 after which Cheema chose to remain unmarried.
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In an interview with a leading daily, Malhotra had said, “I never met her, but I am hoping that she’s watched Shershaah and smiling. I am sure it is a very difficult watch for her as well but I really appreciate her sense of privacy and the purity she has for her love to Captain Vikram Batra.” He, however, seems to have gotten an opportunity to show the family members the film in Delhi and they had ‘all good things to say’.
Malhotra never met Cheema, however, Advani was able to. She calls the encounter the most important part of her preparation for the role.
“Meeting Dimple Cheema was the most important emotional aspect of making this film. We had not even started shooting when we met and it was the best part of the prep. She gave me an insight into her mind and her heart which then helped me emote better on screen.” Advani told The Times. “It was Vishal Batra, Captain Vikram Batra’s twin brother, who helped us meet each other.”
Owing to the encounter she was able to understand the details of who Cheema was as a person, pick them up and put them to use on the screen. “I wanted to understand her closely and emulate her as close to reality as I could. We incorporated Punjabi dialogues because she is from Punjab. It was an overwhelming and emotional experience for me to play Dimple,” she said.
Advani had also expressed to a news portal that she had messaged Dimple after the movie. She recognizes that Shershaah must have been an emotional watch for her.
The actress further revealed that Captain Batra’s family believed she was exactly like Dimple Cheema in the movie, the words were enough to move the actress to tears.
Advani hopes that Cheema takes pride in the story resonating with people.
