Sushant Singh Rajput to star in 'Rifleman'

Mumbai: This week sees a film called 72 Hours hitting the screens. Avinash Dhyani plays the role of rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat in this film, which is about the battle of the Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh and set during the Indo-China war.

It took 72 hours for the three men — Jaswant Singh Rawat, Trilok Negi, and Gopal Gosain — to fight off the Chinese. Jaswant even crawled up to the Chinese trench and retrieved a Chinese MMG, which was later turned against the invaders by another rifleman, Gopal Singh, after Jaswant lost his life.

And now, Sushant Singh Rajput has announced on social media that he will appear in a film called Rifleman, which will be based on these thrilling and chilling 72 hours.

The repeated plotline gives one the impression that Bollywood filmmakers are running short of ideas. For Sushant’s film, the name of the director has still not been announced, but the teaser is enough to reveal what the subject is.

Two other filmmakers are also making a film on Jaswant Singh Rawat. Sanjay Khanduri, the maker of films like Ek Chalis Ki Last Local and Kismat Love Paisa Dilli, was to direct a version of the film and was in talks with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to bankroll his film. Then there was Gurjeet Badwal, former CEO of Sunny Deol’s Vijayta Films, who was also trying to make a film on the same subject, keeping in mind a tribal girl Sela, who along with her sister Noorie, helped the Indian soldiers with food and water when they were fighting the battle. The pass is named after her.

“Often a lot of filmmakers work on similar subjects and around the same time. It is important to see who makes his film first and reaches the audience. Of course, films need to be made well too. The others then see the response to the film and plan their films accordingly,” says a trade source.

Cases like the clash of the Bhagat Singhs, the films on the Chittagong conspiracy, etc., have been seen at the box office.