Vicky Kaushal confirmed as Field Marshal Manekshaw in Meghna Gulzar’s Sam

Nearly a year ago, filmmaker Meghna Gulzar confirmed that she would be helming a film on the life of late Field Marshal Manekshaw titled Sam. Today, on the 11th anniversary of his death, the makers have announced that actor Vicky Kaushal will step up to play the army chief.

The actor announced his participation with the project on Twitter today. He is also part of another film based on another real-life hero, Sardar Udham Singh (2020), directed by Shoojit Sircar.

Meghna, who has wrapped up her next Chhapaak (2020) earlier this month, will begin filming Sam in 2021 as it will cover the periods of the Partition, the accession of Kashmir, as well as the Indo-Pak war of 1971. The popular Kaushal is lined up for a few films next year, including Karan Johar’s Takht (2020).

The filmmaker has already worked with Kaushal on Raazi (2018) and discussed the late army chief with the actor during filming.

“Ours is not a biopic, because it does not chronologically just record Sam Manekshaw's life. We need to make an interesting narrative when telling a story by picking out the most crucial, iconic and relevant incidents of his life, giving a view of the soldier, the man, and the Field Marshal,” she told the daily tabloid Mumbai Mirror.

Sam will be written by Bhavani Iyer, who co-wrote Raazi with Meghna, and Shantanu Srivastava who wrote Badhaai Ho (2018). The film will be produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies.