It is 26 July, the day India remembers as Kargil Vijay Diwas. The Kargil War was a watershed moment in Indian history. The Indian Army, after being caught off guard by the Pakistani intrusion into the Kargil sector, fought a difficult and bloody battle to evict the Pakistani forces from Indian territory. The war was a significant victory for India but came at a high cost. Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the war. In 2003, filmmaker JP Dutta released the film LOC: Kargil. The film was a fictionalised account of the Kargil War, but it was based on actual events and real characters. But do you know that the film was allegedly rejected by Salman Khan rightfully?
LOC: Kargil was a critical and commercial success. The film was praised for its realistic depiction of the war and its stirring tribute to the Kargil War Martyrs. The film also helped to raise awareness of the Kargil War and its impact on the Indian people. The film starred an ensemble cast of actors, including Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Saif Ali Khan, and Hrithik Roshan.
The film’s impact on the Indian audience was profound. The film reminded the audience of the sacrifices made by the Kargil War Martyrs. It also inspired the audience to take pride in their country and its armed forces. The film is also being said as one of the longest films in the history of Indian Cinema, with a run time of over 4 hours!
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According to IMDb, while JP Dutta wanted to bring the biggest of the cast for the film, he even approached Salman Khan for it. However, the cinema record website quotes, “JP Dutta offered Salman Khan a role in the film but asked him to do it for free. Salman reasoned that if JP Dutta was going to sell the film to the distributors and not for free, why should he.” Now this report allegedly has never been confirmed by anyone but owing to Salman’s temperament this might be true.
It is also reported that even Shah Rukh Khan was approached for the film for Sanjay Dutt’s part, but things did not materialise. Two other A-listers who were approached for the highly anticipated film were Akshay Kumar & Sunny Deol. Both refused the film. When Salman Khan was approached for the film, even Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan were offered small parts, but both declined.
The film had a profound impact on the Indian audience but did not materialise on the Box Office. However, the Kargil heroes, Capt. Anu Nayyar played by Saif Ali Khan, Lt. Manoj Kumar, played by Ajay Devgn, Capt. Vikram Batra, played by Abhishek Bachchan, all made a special place with their portrayals. A full-fledged film on the story of Captain Vikram Batra was made in 2020 and was titled Shershah, where Sidharth Malhotra played the late martyr.
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