Sidharth Malhotra: Batra family asked me to play their son

The actor with Vishal Batra

The encouraging opening box-office numbers of Marjaavaan have reaffirmed his faith in his choice of projects. Now, Sidharth Malhotra has trained his focus on what could well be the most defining role in his career so far - Shershaah. "I am hungry to cater to a bigger audience. I feel Shershaah will have a stronger pan-India appeal than Marjaavaan. After all, it's a biopic on an Army hero who fought for the country," reasons the actor.

Malhotra, who is currently gearing up for the next schedule of the film that will bring the valour of the late Captain Vikram Batra - the Kargil martyr who was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra - to the big screen, says he has been involved with the story right from its inception. "I have met Captain Batra's family multiple times. They are the ones who approached me to play the part of their son. I knew this was a story I wanted to invest in and tell. I have been working actively on the script for almost three years now. When we finally had a version of the script that we could give to Dharma Productions, they saw immense potential."

Captain Vikram Batra

The team interestingly shot in Kargil, only days after the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir earlier this year. "We had a smooth shoot despite so much happening in the state. The Ministry of Defence and the Indian Army helped us out at every step."

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