Grandmother was among those who rebuilt Bhuj airstrip in 1971, says director Abhishek Dudhaiya

Abhishek Dudhaiya’s first film as a director, Bhuj: The Pride Of India, starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Nora Fatehi, Ammy Virk and Sharad Kelkar, will be released on Disney+Hotstar on 13 August. Apart from directing the project, Dudhaiya has also written and co-produced it. 

The filmmaker has been an active part of the industry for more than two decades. He has worked as assistant director on films such as Trimurti (1995), Raja Bhaiya (2003) and Sarhad Paar (2006). He has also directed many TV serials such as Tara, Sansar, Deewar, Suhag, Ehsas, Agnipath, Sindur Tere Nam Ka and Life Ka Recharge.

Bhuj: The Pride Of India revolves around IAF squadron leader and then-Bhuj airport in-charge Vijay Karnik, played by Devgn, who reconstructed an entire airstrip with the help of 300 women from a local village in Madhapar in Bhuj, Gujarat during the height of the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict. The runway had been destroyed by Pakistani bombers.

Dudhaiya revealed that his grandmother was one of the women who reconstructed Bhuj runaway and that memory inspired him to make this film  "My grandmother Laxmi Parmar was one of those women who had greatly contributed to reconstructing the =runway. She used to mention this in my childhood," he said.

As part of his research, Dudhaiya spoke to 50-60 women who were part of the project who are still alive and Karnik as he wanted to present the story in the most honest way possible. "After a lot of research, I decided to make this film, which is before us now and is being appreciated by the people," he added.

Talking about working with Devgn, the director said, "All artists extended their support but Ajay Devgn extended maximum support because the film revolves around him. He is playing the role of Squadron leader Vijay Kumar Karnik, and Ajay has played the role very skillfully."

After this film, Dudhaiya's next film is going to be a biopic, and the director has already begun working on the project.

"I am going to make a biopic on Shaurya Chakra awardee Saradar Bana Singh. I will give full information about the project to you people soon," he revealed.

Bana Singh played a crucial role in recapturing the highest peak on the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir during Operation Rajiv in 1987.