Shooting On Arun Khetarpal Biopic To Begin In 3-4 Months: Sriram Raghavan

The filming of the biopic on the youngest Param Vir Chakra recipient Arun Khetarpal is set to start in three-four months, director Sriram Raghavan said. The film will star actor Varun Dhawan in the lead. This is Raghavan and Dhawan's second collaboration after 2015's action thriller hit "Badlapur".

The filmmaker, who was in the capital for the National Film Awards, won the award for the best Hindi film for "Andhadhun".

"I'm very happy. I didn't expect all of this... We next start shooting (the biopic) in three to four months," Raghavan told PTI post the ceremony.

The director also won the National Award for best adapted screenplay along with team of co-writers Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti and Hemanth Rao. Surti said work on the biopic is "going well". "It's slow work. There's lots of research and there are a lot of people to meet. But it's going on," she added.

"Playing a soldier has always been my dream. After I heard Arun Khetrapal's story I was honestly shocked that this could actually happen. I understood why Dinoo (Vijan) and Sriram were so passionate about it. And after I met Arun's brother Mukesh Khetarpal I was moved, I too have a brother and I can't fathom what he must have gone through. "This is a story which needs to be told and it's a responsibility for us to tell it correctly. This is the most important film of my career and I'm so excited to start work with Sriram again. I hope all Indians will feel proud once they hear this story," Varun Dhawan has earlier said in a statement.

Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, PVC born in Pune, Maharashtra, was an officer of the Indian Army and a posthumous recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration for valour in face of the enemy. He was killed in action in the Battle of Basantar in the Battlefield of Shakargarh during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 where his actions earned him his honour.