Ravi, the filmmaker, tells how Mohanlal shot the Malayalam film Kurukshetra in Dras and Kargil.
Major Ravi, SM (Retd), served in the Indian Army before transitioning to filmmaking and directing various projects, including Kurukshetra (2008). It was the only southern-Indian language film to focus on the India-Pakistan Kargil War, and Mohanlal played Colonel Mahadevan.
Unlike most war films, Kurukshetra was filmed in Dras, Kargil. A large unit was brought in from Kerala to shoot in harsh weather conditions and low oxygen levels, but the film’s hero, Mohanlal, showed no indications of weakness, according to Ravi.
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Also read: Kargil Vijay Diwas: Even today, when I go on a run, I can sense Vijyant’s presence beside me, says the war hero’s brother.
“Many young actors had travelled from Kerala to play troops. The entire team fainted in a few instances due to the low oxygen levels. However, Mohanlal never fell; in fact, he was the first to run during combat scenes, with other soldiers. He had the stamina to overtake everyone. “We were both commandos and artists,” recalls Ravi, who has directed the actor in several films, including Keerthi Chakra (2006) and Kandahar (2010).
Ravi, who was also assigned along the Line of Control from 1988 to 1992, found his knowledge of the area useful in a variety of situations. He shot in real areas to give viewers a sense of what it was like for the soldiers during the Kargil War. During his two-year stint in Kargil, he was an undercover intelligence officer.
“I knew the region like the back of my hand; for example, I knew where the Pakistanis could see us and where they couldn’t. From where we were shooting, I could see Tiger Hill and the Kargil artillery firing range. It was off Kargil, away from the airfield, where we could fire weapons. I knew we could shoot sequences there. So it was quite simple to shoot for me,” he explains.
