Real weapon and battlefield… this is how JP Dutta’s ‘Border’ was made, will the sequel be able to repeat history?

Whenever there is talk of patriotic films in Hindi cinema, the name of JP Dutta’s film ‘Border’ is taken first. This film, released about 28 years ago, not only performed brilliantly at the box office, but also made a permanent place in the hearts of the audience. This film, released in 1997, still gives the same feeling of patriotism. Now that ‘Border 2’ has hit the theatres, once again people’s memories have returned to that historical film.

Border: Not a film, a feeling

‘Border’ has gained the status of a cult film with time. Especially its song ‘Sandesh Aate Hain’ still shakes the feeling of patriotism. Although the new generation may not have seen the film in its entirety, its songs and dialogues are still popular today. There are many stories behind the making of this film, which many people are still unaware of.

There were major changes in casting

The casting of the film was very interesting in itself. Sunny Deol and Sunil Shetty were part of this project from the beginning, but talks were held with many big stars for the remaining roles. Names like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar were considered for the role of Akshay Khanna, but due to some reason or the other, things could not work out. The role of Jackie Shroff was initially thought of for Sanjay Dutt, but he was in jail at that time, so the role went to Jackie Shroff.

Many names were also discussed for female characters in the film. Earlier Juhi Chawla was offered the role, but she refused because the role was small. The names of Manisha Koirala and Sonali Bendre also came up, but the matter could not progress further. Finally Tabu became a part of the film.

Real location and real weapon

JP Dutta shot this film in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan to give it a completely real feel. The shooting took place in real areas related to the 1971 war. The tanks, jeeps, bombs and weapons seen in the film were real equipment provided by the Indian Army and Air Force. Even Hawker Hunter aircraft were also used. The story of the film was inspired by JP Dutta’s personal diaries, which recorded his late brother’s experiences as a pilot in the Indian Air Force. He dedicated this film to his brother.

Threats, Success and Awards

During the production of ‘Border’, JP Dutta also received threatening phone calls, due to which he had to maintain security. Despite this, the film achieved tremendous success in 1997 and became the second highest grossing film of that year. Its songs broke records and the film also received many national awards.

Now expectations from ‘Border 2’

Now ‘Border 2’ has been released, in which Varun Dhawan, Ahan Shetty and Diljit Dosanjh are seen along with Sunny Deol. The film has been produced by JP Dutta’s daughter Nidhi Dutta in collaboration with T-Series. It will be interesting to see whether this film will also be able to create the same place in the hearts of the audience that the first ‘Border’ had created.