'Border 2'—Varun to play Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Dahiya
What's the story
Varun Dhawan will play Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya in the highly anticipated movie Border 2, reported Mid-Day.
Dahiya was honored with the Param Vir Chakra for his valiance and was promoted to Colonel post the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
This comes as the movie's ensemble cast, which includes Sunny Deol, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ahan Shetty, continues to create buzz.
Deol reprises his role from the 1997 movie Border, while Dosanjh and Shetty are new additions.
Preparation
Dhawan's preparation for 'Border 2'
Ahead of the Jhansi shoot in Madhya Pradesh, Dhawan did two months of intense preparation.
This included "look sessions with designer Sheetal Sharma and meetings with Indian officers to gain a deeper understanding of their lives," a source revealed.
Physically, he started with three hours of cardio and weightlifting, followed by arms and ammunition training.
The team has also consulted with an ex-Army major for authenticity.
Action
'Border 2' to feature major action sequence
Dhawan's first scene features a mammoth action sequence with heavy artillery, choreographed by Nick Powell.
The story will detail Major Dahiya's leadership at Jarpal post in the Shakargarh sector during the Indo-Pak war.
Though heavily wounded, he refused evacuation until the ceasefire.
"To encourage and motivate his men, he went from trench to trench, and even manned the machine gun on his own."
"His company fought back all the attacks, imposing heavy mortality on the Pakistani army," added the report.