Today, the whole nation is celebrating 75 years of its independence. In line with the celebrations, Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharad Kelkar, Nora Fatehi and Ammy Virk came up with their film Bhuj: The Pride Of India that celebrates an iconic and brave act in the history of our nation. It depicts the story of the 1971 Indo-Pak war when 300 villagers, especially women, from near Bhuj came together, risking their lives, to repair the destroyed Bhuj airbase by the opposition air force, in just 72 hours.
Sharad, who plays the military officer RK Nair in the film, shares his thoughts on patriotism. “First of all, we need to believe that it is our country and we need to work towards its betterment. I request and sincerely think that it’s time we stop fighting internally on any matter and unite; we should think about the progress of our nation. I don’t want my country to go from a developing country to a poor country or to a destroyed or broken country,” he says.
The actor insists on the importance of gathering ourselves united and working towards the progress of our country. “We shouldn’t fight internally on petty matters, or power, position, caste or religion. We all are citizens of India and we are together in everything. This feeling means patriotism to me,” he says, pointing out that there is a reason it is called the defence services. “We don’t call it attacking services as you are not there to attack someone, you are there to defend and that is by not fighting within. If people follow that, we will be a much more successful and progressive country.”
However, during the conversation, Sharad makes a surprising revelation, sharing how close he came to becoming an army personnel in real life. “Since childhood, I have wanted to be in the army. After my graduation, I appeared for the CDS exam and I cleared it. I went for the SSB interview and I cleared the first round but I wasn’t eventually selected. I always wanted to be an army man and I always see myself in the uniform in my dreams. So, I have a great connectivity to this zone and that is also what inspired me to take on my role in Bhuj as I could see myself there. That was a great opportunity to play an army officer and relive my dreams. Even if not in real life, at least in reel life,” he smiles.
Image source: Instagram/sharadkelkar