Adding another film to his list of upcoming movies, Akshay Kumar on Friday shared two first look posters of Gorkha to make the big reveal.
Akshay disclosed that in the movie, he will be portraying the role of war hero Major General Ian Cardozo(AVSM) (SM). “Sometimes you come across stories so inspiring that you just want to make them”, Akshay said. The movie is based on the life of a legendary veteran and war hero, Major General Ian Cardozo. The 54-year-old actor says that he is honoured to be able to portray the role of an icon and present this special film, in a recent tweet.
The movie is being directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and produced by Aanand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma.
Aanand L Rai, who has also directed Akshay Kumar’s upcoming movies like Atrangi Re and Raksha Bandhan, said in a statement that he is looking forward to the third collaboration. He said that it is an immense honour for him to be able to present this story about the legendary war hero MAJ. GEN. Ian Cardozo, whose name is etched in the pages of our war history owing to his display of bravery in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He is also excited to work with Akshay for the third time.
Adding to the statements, producer Himanshu Sharma said that hopefully, he can honour Major General Ian Cardozo in this film which will inspire a lot of people ahead. He is looking forward to this project.
The legend, Major General Ian Cardozo, himself, in a statement said that he feels honoured that this story is being shared on the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Indo Pak war. It commemorates the courage and sacrifice made by the Armed Forces of the Country. He is looking forward to working with Anand and Akshay as they are putting in the effort to bring this to life. He also said that this story is a reflection of the values and spirit of every officer of the Indian Army.
Aside from Gorkha, Akshay Kumar has an extremely impressive line-up of films ahead. “Sooryavanshi” is set to be released on 5th November. His list of new films also includes Prithviraj, Bachchan Pandey, and Ram Setu.
Things did take a pretty interesting turn when Akshay shared the first look poster on Twitter. Major Manik M. Jolly (SM), a retired Army Veteran who has served in the Gorkha Regiment and also the Military Intelligence, replied to his tweet and pointed out a mistake in the poster, after which he promised to take “utmost care” while filming to maintain the authenticity.
The poster shows Akshay donning the uniform of the Army and holding a khukri. The officer, in his tweet, wrote that the Khukri displayed in the poster is incorrect and attached a picture of a traditional khukri for reference. The sharp edge of the blade in the poster was on the wrong side. “It’s not a sword, khukri strikes from inner side of blade”.
Akshay replied to the ex-Gorkha officer, thanking him for “pointing out” the mistake and wrote that he will take “utmost care while filming” and any suggestions which take the movie closer to authenticity will be appreciated.
This role won’t be easy for Akshay. Bollywood has, at times, messed up badly while making movies relating to the Armed Forces by missing out on important details that has triggered anger amongst the viewers, especially those who have served the Nation with pride.
MAJ. GEN. Ian Cardozo, popularly known as “Kartoos Sahib” commanded the 4/5 Gorkha Rifles which was deployed in the eastern side during the 1971 Indo Pak war. The battalion’s second-in-command was killed in action when he was in the middle of a course in the Defence Services Staff College. Cardozo was ordered to replace him. He returned to command his battalion in time and successfully accompanied them on the Indian Army’s first heliborne operation during the Battle of Sylhet.
After Dhaka fell, Cardozo accidentally stepped on a land mine critically injured his leg. Due to the unavailability of anaesthetics and the absence of medics, his leg could not be surgically amputated. He used his khukri and amputated his leg on his own. Later, his unit captured a Pakistan Army surgeon, Maj. Mohammad Basheer, who performed surgery on Cardozo.
He has fought two wars with his Battalion- the 1965 and the 1971 Indo Pak war. He also happens to be the first awardee to receive the Gold medal (awarded for overall best performance) and Silver medal (awarded for first in order of merit) when he passed out of the National Defence Academy. This has happened only once subsequently.
Portraying his role while paying attention to the minute details might prove to be a challenging task for Akshay.
Edited by Anupama Roy
