Had Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta not written his book, `The Burning Chaffees`, on the urging of his battalion mates, the Battle of Garibpur in the run-up to the 1971 India-Pakistan War, would have been forgotten forever.

But the book inspired Raja Krishna Menon, previously in the news for the Akshay Kumar-starrer `Airlift`, to make the war film `Pippa` with Ishaan `The Suitable Boy` Khattar playing the war hero (and author of the book), then a 26-year-old who was made a Captain in the thick of the battle after his commanding officer died within three minutes of it.