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'This is Sunny Deol's film more than ours': Nidhi Dutta on Border 2's emotional core

Nidhi Dutta’s Border 2, directed by Anurag Singh, revisits the 1999 Kargil war. With Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, and Diljit Dosanjh, the sequel honours JP Dutta's legacy and the Indian Armed Forces.

'This is Sunny Deol's film more than ours': Nidhi Dutta on Border 2's emotional core
Sunny Deol with JP Dutta on the sets of Border

Last Updated: 08.41 AM, Jan 26, 2025

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Border 2 writer-producer Nidhi Dutta is in the cantonment area of Babina, Jhansi, with her team of actors and more than 300 army soldiers. Her sole thought is gratitude, and during a recent interview with MidDay, she expressed her disbelief, "Is it really happening?"

Anurag Singh directs the spiritual sequel to Border

Anurag Singh is directing Border 2, a film that recounts the 1999 Kargil war and serves as a spiritual sequel to JP Dutta's 1997 smash hit Border. Besides paying homage to the Indian Armed Forces, Nidhi's goals in making the war drama are to produce a film that lives up to her filmmaker father's legacy. With an all-star cast that includes Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, and Diljit Dosanjh, as well as a story that has been thoroughly studied, she feels assured. Particularly appreciated by the writer-producer is the fact that Deol, who played the lead in Border, consented to star in her film. 

Deol was instrumental in the production of this film. His absence would render Border meaningless. It is his film more than theirs, and Nidhi can say that on her father's behalf. She goes on to say that Deol has always held the franchise in high regard. She remarked that if JP was helming the film, Deol would feel a sense of pride, like, "This is my franchise." She can sense that emotion in the veteran actor.

Nidhi Dutta's confidence in Border 2 despite saturation of patriotic films

Border 2 is now in development for the Republic Day 2026 release. Recent years have seen a proliferation of mediocre patriotic films. However, Nidhi believes that people have grown tired of this genre. 

If people can tell that a film is done with noble intentions, they will love it regardless of the number of previous films in the same genre. The audience won't accept anything that is dishonest.

When asked about it, she said the team really wants to win. The fact that the Dutta family has a history of military service is an additional plus. When Nidhi shares a story from her military past, it resonates deeply. Her father shared a similar experience; his younger brother served in the Air Force. The moments when the soldier's loved ones learn of his death have a profound effect on his films. That's because that was something that her dad had to deal with. Two Air Force officers delivered the news of her uncle's death in the MIG-21 crash to their house. Therefore, he was working from a place of intimacy when he set out to create a war film.

Meanwhile, Dhawan has begun shooting Border 2 in Babina.

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