Suniel Shetty recalls going to Kargil during the war: ‘Went at my own risk, was howling’

Suniel Shetty, who is still remembered for his role in JP Dutta’s Border, recently shared that the film continues to have an impact on the audience. Shetty shared that when he was initially approached for the film, he refused because he had heard some tales about Dutta’s temper. Shetty also shared that he visited Kargil during the 1999 war, a few years after the film’s release, and was overwhelmed when he saw a young soldier talking like his character from the film.

He shared on Chanda Kochhar’s YouTube channel, “If Suniel Shetty would stay in people’s minds, even long after I am gone also, it will be only because of Border.” He said that it was his mother-in-law who convinced him to be in the film and shared, “I had said no to JP sir when he narrated Border to me, even though I liked the script. Somebody told me he is hot tempered and you won’t get along so I said no. I don’t know what JP sir thought… he needed me for that character and he spoke to my mother-in-law and said that I need him for the film.”

Suniel Shetty played Bhairav Singh in Border and his character was a part of the BSF. He shared that after the release of the 1997 film, he visited Kargil during the 1999 war with Pakistan. “The Kargil war was going on and I got information that the boys wanted to see me. The war was on, shelling was on so I remember signing that form saying that I will be going at my own risk and we were flown to Kargil. I went to the base camp and there was shelling going on on top,” he said.

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Shetty recalled metting a 19-20 year Sikh soldier who had lost one arm. He was drowsy when the actor saw him but when he woke up, he started saying Bhairav Singh’s war cry from the film. “I started howling,” Shetty recalled.

29 years after the original film, Border 2 is being made. The film stars Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh among others. Suniel’s son Ahaan is also a part of the cast.