Rahul Roy and Nishant Malkani’s starrer film L.A.C changed to Sarzameen e Hindustan now and speaking about that producer Chitra Vakil Sharma says,”From the beginning, we had Sarzameen E Hindustan registered as an alternative title for the film. The theme song of the film also has the same name. During test screenings, we realized that this was a far more powerful title than LAC as it truly captures the essence of the film. That’s how we came to the decision of changing the title of the film to Sarzameen E Hindustan. The phrase means the ‘Land of India’. It signifies that our soldiers will do anything to protect every inch of the Land of India from enemy forces, even if it means giving up their lives for it.” Speaking about the unique casting of the film Sharma adds,”In the film, we show four main characters, from the rank of Colonels, to Majors to Sepoys. Thus, we needed artists of different age groups who could portray the different ranks. Also, we wanted to make sure that the artists have a fresh and positive image in the minds of the public, untarnished by controversies. That’s how we decided to use this cast, who ended up having amazing onscreen chemistry with each other.”
The film recently premiered at military school Bangalore. Speaking about the responses it has received she says,”Honestly, even though I had full faith in my film, I had never expected the response that we got from a generation grown up on megabudget Superhero films from Hollywood. When the first stone is struck by the enemy forces on screen, a collective gasp from the audience surprised me. And then when our soldiers killed the first enemy on a snow-covered bridge, the audience burst out in claps. I got goosebumps. After that, the audience clapped with each kill that the Indian soldiers made, and in the end they gave a standing ovation of five minutes for the entire end credits. It was an extremely emotional moment for me, and I had to do everything to control my tears. It was indeed an emotional moment. It was an amazing honour to be able to premiere the film before an elite group of students who have decided to make armed forces as the career of their lives. I was incredibly proud that the film could help motivate them on their path to serve the country.”
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Join Telegram ChannelDr Nitin Kumar Gupta, a doctor turned VFX head turned filmmaker has directed the film and Chitra feels he has done the film justice. “In my opinion the only person who could have pulled off this film is Nitin. It was his vision to make a story about the unarmed combat on our borders, in extremely hostile conditions consisting of snow, ice-cold rivers, freezing winds, treacherous bridges and cliffs. He insisted on filming on location at Kargil, and he motivated the cast and crew throughout the film. His medical background helped keep the team protected, and his technical expertise made the film the marvelous piece of wizardry it is. The fact that he chose to shoot it as a single-shot film, and actually pulled it off, speaks of his genius!.”
So when the film is expected to release or it’s an OTT release? “We are taking the film ahead step by step. Our main aim is not commercial, but to showcase the film to as many people as possible so that the people of our country can appreciate the bravery and sacrifices of our border soldiers, and motivate them to fight for their country when the time comes.” In the past Chitra has been associated with series like Tandoor starring Rashami Desai, Tanuj Virwani.
