Shershaah

Art: acrylic on canvas by Upasana, colleague-turned-friend

Shershaah: an Independence Day movie

Sidharth, who acted the part of an intrepid Captain Vikram Batra of Indian Army, along with his crew blitzed the screen with their power-packed performance. They bombed and strafed their way to successfully plant a fragile flag, woven with threads of blood, phenomenal courage, and selfless sacrifices, on the snow packed mountain reclaimed from the enemies through a gory battle. In a moving moment, they honered the fallen bodies of their nemesis that their authorities refuted to revere. Kiara Advani conveyed every inch of Dimple Cheema's emotions like a pro: her happiness in love, her longings, and her endurance with stoicism of the heart-rending demise of her heart-throb at war.

What I admire is bringing back the valiant Captain's moments to life: his code name Sher Shah echoed in every ear, his signature words 'ye dil mange more' empowered every heart, and his remarkable chronicle of seizing Point 5140 and Point 4875 back from the warring country filled every eye on the screen with pride.

But, by the end I was evidently overcome by sadness, helplessness, and meaningless obsession and delineation of POK, IOK, COK in the inhospitable altitudes of the icy Himalayan folds. The last of the wars, Kargil War, and related border skirmishes have witnessed loss of invaluable lives in those insurmountable heights. Yet it ends in stalemate and the harsh Himalaya of the region remains entombed in dispute - its beauty unheard, unseen, unexplored!