Mumbai, June 27th, 2019: Ronnie Screwvala and Meghna Gulzar have finally found their leading man for the biopic on Sam Manekshaw. He is none other than Vicky Kaushal. Vicky Kaushal who is India `s latest obsession has been roped in to portray the legendary army man.
Moreover, after spate of successful collaborations of Vicky and Ronnie together URI, Love per square foot and Lust Stories , they come together 4th time.
Who is Sam Manekshaw?
Sam Manekshaw or popularly known as Sam Bahadur was born on 3rd April 1914 in Amritsar to a Parsi family. Manekshaw wanted to be a doctor very much like his military-doctor father. But fate had something else in store for him. He became the part of the first inclusions of 40 cadets of Indian Army in 1932 by clearing the Indian Military Academy (IMA) entrance examination. During World War II, he served as a captain with the Frontier Force Regiment in Burma. He was able to conquered against the Japanese.
In 1942, as a young captain while posted in Burma and fighting a war with the Japanese, he was often critically wounded. In one instance he had 9 bullets in his body. His valiant Sikh orderly Sepoy Sher Singh came to his rescue and saved him life from certain death. One of his famous quotes is “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gorkha”
Sam Manekshaw was decorated with a Military Cross (MC) for his exemplary courage and bravery during this period.
On few occasions, Manekshaw cheated death, both on the battlefield and away from it. However, he, lived on to be a nonagenarian dying in Wellington, Tamil Nadu on 27th June 2008 at the age of 94.
Sam Bahadur led the country to victory against Pakistan in 1971. This victory eventually led to the liberation of Bangladesh. Another one of his famous quotes came when he was asked what would have happened if would had opted for Pakistan during partition. He cheekily replied, “then Pakistan would have won all wars.”
His Ranks and Awards:
In addition, he was the first Indian Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. He was also honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.
On the death anniversary of the exceptional man, RSVP is pleased to unveil Vicky`s look in the film that goes on floors late next year. The script is written by Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Shrivastava along with Meghna Gulzar.
“Sam Manekshaw’s name will be etched in history as one of the greatest soldiers and minds India has ever seen. Young India desperately needs role models to look up to. They needs to be educated on the contribution made by this icon to India as we know it today. I could not have asked for a better storyteller than Meghna to collaborate with on this one. It will be a treat to do this with Vicky again” says Ronnie Screwvala”
Meghna who have also directed Vicky’s smash hit RAAZI, says “This film has been brewing between RSVP and me, for some time now. With Vicky now coming on board to play Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, it has begun to simmer. Looking forward to things to come to fruition one step at a time.”
“It’s an absolute honor for me to be getting the opportunity to portray the life of Sam Manekshaw. Reuniting with Ronnie and Meghna feels like Home because of the tremendous comfort level we share. We are thrilled to bring forward the story of this fearless patriot and the first Field Marshal of India.” says Vicky
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