SRK eyes Operation Khukri as big budget blockbuster

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 23

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is targeting the successful Operation Khukri for making it a big budget Bollywood blockbuster showing the bravery of the Indian soldiers on the big screen.

After JP Dutta’s super hit movies — Border (1997) and LOC Kargil (2003) — Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and scriptwriter Girish Kohli were on the move digging out the secret of the success of Operation Khukri in Sierra Leone which was led by 1999 Kargil War hero Col Khushal Thakur, who led the 18 Grenadiers and the Air Force.

Brig Khushal Thakur (retd) was taken by surprise one fine day when Kohli knocked at his door at Nagwain in Mandi, where the Kargil War hero is championing the cause of farmers being uprooted from their homeland by the four-lane highway project. “He dropped in, had a long chat with me and told me about Shah Rukh Khan’s movie idea,” Brigadier Thakur said.

The action goes back to July 15, 2000, recalls Brig Thakur when his 18 Grenadiers finally landed at Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, to free 21 Indian soldiers held as hostages by rebels for 75 days. “It was on a three-day notice and the mission was to free 21 Indian soldiers, while about another 234 peacekeeping soldiers were surrounded by the hostile rebels,” he added. They were deployed under the United Nations Mission Sierra Leone.

“I was airlifted to Daru, near the capital, on July 14. My vehicle was ambushed and we lost our driver Krishan from Hamirpur, while another one was injured,” he said.

After five days, the Indian Army took control of Freetown and freed all soldiers after 200 rebels were forced to surrender, he said. The Indian Army showed its mettle to the world, brought the Sierra Leone rebels to the negotiating table and helped rebuilt the battle-ravaged country. Even then UN Chief Kofi Annan heaped praises on the India Army for their bravery, he added.

Brig Thakur said Operation Khukri was different as they fought the rebels on unknown foreign land, while in Operation Kargil, Pak intruders had come close capturing key locations.

“In Sierra Leone, we stayed for a year and brought back peace and bolstered the morale of the locals,” he added.

“What came as a pleasant surprise after the Operation was that then Union Defence Minister George Fernandes landed in Sierra Leone and gifted us Indian mangoes. It was a heart-warming experience as the Tricolour was flying high in the world,” Thakur recalled.

Even a TV team from India visited Sierra Leone. They took firsthand information of Operation Khukri, which was later made into a film called ‘Operation Khukri’.