Border 2

Border 2, like its predecessor Border (1997), throws light on the Indian defense forces’ bravery during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. But unlike the 1997 film, this one focusses on different characters who took part in the war. Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya (Varun Dhawan) of the Indian Army, Flight Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (Diljit Dosanjh) of the Indian Air Force and Lieutenant Commander Mahendra S Rawat (Ahan Shetty) of the Indian Navy become thick friends during their training days at the National War Academy. They share a respectful relation with their trainer Lieutenant Colonel Fateh Singh Kaler (Sunny Deol).

Patriotism, in its truest form, is an unexplainable emotion. If you are patriotic, you know it is largely a one-sided relationship, almost like one’s belief in God. You either feel it, or you do not. I remember discussing Laal Singh Chaddha with someone, where the titular character saves a slain Pakistani soldier purely out of humanity. The idea that brotherhood should be placed above national pride was something my head understood, not my heart. As I sat down to watch Border 2, I wished it could evoke that unadulterated feeling, which is second only to our love for kith and kin.

A well-crafted war film operates on multiple levels - it provides historical context and details about the progression of specific events, incorporates the human aspects of bravery and sacrifice, and ultimately conveys the message that war is pointless. Regrettably, Border 2, the spiritual successor to Border (1997), fails to meet any of these criteria.

Till date, ‘Border’, directed and produced by JP Dutta — never mind certain misgivings — is considered a significant war film. So when Dutta decided to produce its sequel 27 years later in 2024, the new captain of the film, director Anurag Singh, knew he had to tap into the same emotion which made ‘Border’ a blockbuster. Apart from Sunny Deol as the connecting thread, ‘Border 2’ thrives on music, emotions and of course melodrama. Anurag possibly couldn’t resist Sunny Bhaji’s “dhai kilo ka haath” manifesting with full force. So, Sunny Deol’s Lt Col Fateh Singh Kaler gets plenty of one-to-one combat scenes and some bombastic dialogues too, besides a heartrending track.

1971 के भारत-पाक युद्ध में इतने सारे मोर्चों पर इतनी सारी लड़ाइयां लड़ी गई थीं कि हमारे फिल्मकार चाहें तो हर साल उन पर फिल्में बना सकते हैं। 13 जून, 1997 को आई जे.पी. दत्ता की ‘बॉर्डर’ उस युद्ध की लोंगेवाला की लड़ाई पर थी तो पिछले दिनों आई श्रीराम राघवन की ‘इक्कीस’ बसंतर की लड़ाई पर। अब आई ‘बॉडर 2’ को बसंतर, शक्करगढ़, मनव्वर तवी, पुंछ, ऑपरेशन चंगेज़, आई.एन.एस. खुखरी जैसे कई मोर्चों को मिला-जुला कर मसालेदार बनाने की कोशिश की गई है। यानी ‘बॉर्डर 2’ पिछली वाली ‘बॉर्डर’ का सीक्वेल नहीं है बल्कि यह उसी नाम वाली एक और फिल्म है जिसमें ‘बॉर्डर’ का फ्लेवर, उसकी खुशबू, उसकी झलक डाली गई है।

Mounted on a grand scale but filmed largely in and around real military locations and installations, Border 2 is a longer, brighter, and more ballistic and variegated replica of the original war drama released in 1997. In tone and texture, however, it isn’t the same. The surface sheen of Border 2 reflects the significant distance that Mumbai’s commercial cinema has travelled in terms of filmmaking technique in the 28-year interregnum. It is bolder and louder than Border could ever have been given the times in which it was envisaged and executed.