'Shershaah' Screenwriter ‘Overwhelmed’ With The Response To The Film

Sandeep Srivastava, who has written films such as ‘Shivaay’, ‘New York’ and ‘Ab Tak Chappan’ says his phone hasn’t stopped ringing ever since the release of ‘Shershaah’ on Aug 12.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 23 August 2021 2:35 pm

The recently released film, ‘Shershaah’, a biopic on the Kargil martyr, Captain Vikram Batra, has been receiving rave reviews from the critics and is being loved by the audiences as well. The film’s screenwriter, Sandeep Srivastava, feels blessed with the response the film has received so far.

“It’s overwhelming to say the least. The response has been way beyond our expectations, actually. Look at the kind of love people are giving us. Phones have not stopped ringing. You pick up your phone and see a barrage of congratulatory messages. There’s been so much praise. It seems endless. It’s such a humbling experience,” he beams adding that the “two most common refrains” in those messages have been ‘wish we had seen this movie on a big screen’ and ‘you guys have made us cry.’

“When you are writing a movie on someone like a Captain Vikram Batra, who has been a household name and a legendary war hero since the time we won the Kargil war, you have to be very careful every step of the way in retelling a story which is already known. You have to look beyond the documented history and explore those aspects of his personality which connect with the audience at a visceral level. Looking at the kind of response we’re getting from all those who’ve seen the movie, I can now say that we’ve been successful in doing that. I can’t thank the audience enough,” he adds.

The screenwriter, best known for writing in films like 'Shivaay', 'Ab Tak Chhappan' and Disney+Hotstar's ‘Aarya’, feels that the film was well received because it stayed away from jingoism.

“There are plenty of reasons behind the film’s success. The pace with which the story unfolds, the slick cinematography, the hair-raising action sequences, the patriotism which doesn’t walk on the crutches of jingoism, the editing, the sound design, the production design, the costumes… I can just go on and on. Every department has done a top-class job here. And all this without losing the emotional core of the story,” he says.