The cast of Major talks about the movie based on the life of martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Mona

Major is a multilingual war drama based on the life and supreme sacrifice of 26/11 hero, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s life and the teaser of the film was dropped on Monday. A dream project for its director Sashi Kiran Tikka and Adivi Sesh, it’s an ambitious take on the life of the martyr, charting his inspiring journey right from his childhood to his final hours.

Adivi Sesh, who plays the title role, insists that the film is as much about his character as veterans Prakash Raj and Revathi, who play Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s parents. Sobhita Dhulipala and Saiee Manjrekar will also be a part of the film. As the cast sat down for a conference, the very first question was how much of it is fictionalised? “It’s a film — so we have taken creative liberty but each incident shown in the film is true to Major Sandeep’s life,” says Adivi. “All the characters that you will see on screen are taken from real life,” adds Sobhita Dhulipala.

Grand canvas

Making a biographical film comes with added responsibility, admit the actors; Sobhita adds, “Actors are fortunate as they get to live different lives. But when one has to play someone from real life the pressure is immense, it’s no more about proving one’s acting prowess but to be true to the person you are enacting.”

The film shot over 110 days has a grand canvas. “There were sets of Taj Mahal hotel at eight different locations. Consultants were called in at various stages to ensure everything is true to life. But it’s not just a 26/11 film. While 26/11 is a significant part of it, Major is about life and valour of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan —his childhood in Bangalore, time in Kashmir to the final few hours at Mumbai. It is more about celebrating his life,” adds Adivi Sesh.

The film is being shot in two languages — Hindi and Telugu — simultaneously and would be also be dubbed in Malayalam. Sobhita adds, “Shooting in two languages got me closer to how different these two are!”

The enthusiastic team of Major aims to take this brave story worldwide. “I studied the pictures and videos carefully to get the mannerisms of Major Sandeep right. I am left-handed, so worked extra hard to get all my weapons’ training with the right hand,” says Adivi, who has also written the film, mentioning Major Sandeep’s parents fondly as uncle and aunty.

“Don’t come up, I’ll handle them,” the voice thunders in the gritty teaser that was launched by Salman Khan in Hindi, Prithviraj in Malayalam and Mahesh Babu in Telugu.

mona@tribunemail.com