Every year July 26th is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas to honor the brave soldiers who fought against the enemy to protect the national sovereignty and safeguard her people. As India celebrates its 25th year of victory, we look back at the different films made on the heroic soldiers who participated in this war.

Shershaah (2021)
It’s a beautiful and heart-melting story on the life of Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Vikram Batra who got martyred during the Kargil war. The movie stars actor Sidharth Malhotra in the lead role and portrays the story in a captivating manner. The movie was shot at a place that was very close to the actual war zone. The director VishnuVaradhan has kept many incidents in the movie which were inspired by the actual stories of the soldiers who served alongside Captain Batra in the war. Former Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane also appreciated the makers for keeping it realistic. He said, “I appreciate the genuine effort made by the entire crew in depicting realistic battle scenes of the Kargil War and the esprit de corps of the Indian Army.” Adding to the movie’s strong storyline is the adorable love story of Captain Batra and his girlfriend Dimple Cheema( played by Kiara Advani).

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Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020)
The story is based on the life of Indian Air Force officer Gunjan Saxena who became the first Indian woman to fly in the war zone. Directed by Sharan Sharma, the movie depicts the gender-based discrimination faced by women in the military and how they overcome it. It also gives a glimpse of the strong daughter-father bond shared between Gunjan and her dad who remained her pillar of strength in tough times. The lead role in the movie is played by Janhvi Kapoor while Pankaj Tripathi plays the role of her father.

Lakshya (2004)
Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the movie is based on a fictional story centered around the Kargil War. According to its director, the movie was aimed to inspire youth to join the Indian armed forces. The story of the movie revolves around an unfocused youngster played by Hrithik Roshan who after joining the army undergoes a tremendous shift in personality. He becomes more disciplined and focused in life and ends up fighting bravely at Kargil.

LOC: Kargil (2003)
The movie is packed with bravery, emotions, and courage. It is one of the longest films in the world. Directed by J.P. Dutta, the movie depicts the combat between Indian Army and Pakistani intruders during operation Vijay. It has a huge cast which includes Saif Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor Khan and others.

The earlier movies on Kargil like “LOC Kargil (2003)”, “Stumped (2003)”, “And Dhoop (2003)” were relatively less successful at the box office. According to film historian, Gautam Chintamani, this happened because the earlier films failed to capture the war stories in a very realistic way. He said, “There was more ‘drama’ in the real-life stories than what was translated on screen. People saw Kargil’s stories in a 24-hour news cycle. Films such as L.O.C Kargil (2003) had too many sub-plots, which failed to find takers. After the film didn’t do well, not many Bollywood producers took up Kargil war stories.”