'155 Hours' on camaraderie in armed forces: Kapri

Filmmaker Vinod Kapri, who has announced his new film "155 Hours", says it will explore the camaraderie of soldiers, a facet that in his opinion has so far been unexplored in Hindi cinema.

The film is set in 1971 and inspired by the real life stories of Captain Karam Singh Virk and Sepoy Baldev Singh of 9 Sikh Regiment.

"It is about the valour, the camaraderie, the bonding between soldiers of 9 Sikh Regiment... It is a true story of Sepoy Baldev Singh, who was stuck in a Pakistan jungle for 155 hours. And at the same time, this is the story of Captain Karam Singh Virk who tried to rescue his sepoy from Pakistan for 7 days," Kapri told IANS.

Virk and Singh are both alive and have helped Kapri shape up his script.

"Baldev Singh lives in Ropar and Virk in Mohali," said the director, who has earlier helmed films like "Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho" and "Pihu".

"One of the Army officers told me about their story and after that I met them at least four to five times before I wrote the story."

Kapri said what sets it apart from war-set movies in recent times is that "155 Hours" is "not a war story".

"This is a human relations story. It is a survival drama. This is about the beautiful camaraderie between the armed forces which has never been seen on screen. We have seen tanks and bombs go off in war films but this shows the human face of soldiers," he said.

Talks for casting are on and actors will be finalised in a couple of weeks.

As for the title, Kapri said as of now it is "155 Hours" but they may consider changing it if a better one emerges. The aim is that the project goes on floors in November this year so that the film is ready to hit the screens next year.

--IANS

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