When Abhishek Bachchan met Shershaah Vikram Batra’s twin, bonded over love for Amitabh Bachchan

Before Sidharth Malhotra’s Shershaah, Abhishek Bachchan had played the role of the Kargil War hero Captain Vikram Batra in LOC Kargil. The film told many soldiers’ stories from the 1999 war against Pakistan, while Shershaah focusses on Vikram’s life and his sacrifice. 

During the making of LOC Kargil, Abhishek Bachchan had met Vikram Batra’s twin brother Vishal Batra in Chandigarh. The actor, in an interview, had called it a rare honour and revealed insights from their conversation. 

“Luckily for me, I met Captain Batra’s twin brother Vishal in Chandigarh. It was one of the rare honours of my life. My role is a tribute to him and all the armed forces people of this country,” Abhishek said, speaking with Rediff. 

“I was told by Vishal that Captain Batra was a great fan of my father’s [Amitabh Bachchan] acting. I felt good hearing that. All said and done, I told him I would never be able to achieve in my life what Captain Batra did for our country,” he added. 

Abhishek had also revealed that his perspective about life changed filming LOC Kargil. “People in cities just don’t know about the contribution of the jawans and our soldiers on the border. When I came back to Mumbai after shooting LoC-Kargil, I realised we live a happy and cozy life only because our soldiers die every day at the border. We should be thankful to them every day,” he said before adding, “My first reaction when I came back home was, ‘What the hell I am doing in this city? I have not done anything great in my life compared to those in the armed forces’.”

While Abhishek essayed the role of Vikram in the film, Esha Deol played his girlfriend Dimple Cheema. 

Also read: Shershaah Vikram Batra’s parents recall emotional reaction to his death scene in Sidharth Malhotra-starrer

Abhishek recently received praises from a fan on Twitter for his portrayal of Captain Vikram Batra in LOC Kargil. After the release of Shershaah’s trailer, a Twitter user said, “#ShershaahTrailer is awesome. No offence to Siddharth Malhotra (awesome actor, did a good job ) but I think @juniorbachchan played Capt. Vikram Batra way better in #LocKargil movie. (Was more energetic especially in that dialogue – Ye dil mange more, Durga Mata ki jai).” Abhishek responded with a folded hands emoji.