Border, the Epic war film, completes 25 years of release

Border, according to Suniel Shetty, is the only film he’s worked on where every actor can claim to be “the lead of the film.” He isn’t mistaken. In the war drama, he was part of a fantastic ensemble cast that included Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna, Jackie Shroff, and others. They all had their special moments, heart-pounding conversation, and backstories. “If people remember Suniel Shetty for any film, it is Bhairav Singh of Border,” Suniel stated.

“JP Dutta has given us a film that will be discussed in all our obituaries,” Pooja Bhatt says. “The film enhances us all and sends us home having contributed something to our lives,” she says.

Border was released in 1997. It was inspired by the experiences of filmmaker JP Dutta’s brother, late Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Deepak Dutta. JP chose Deepak’s war stories, setting them within the context of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.

When JP Dutta contacted him to create the songs for the film, lyricist Javed Akhtar had similar reservations. When the Bollywood star heard the screenplay, though, he realised there was a lot of room for creativity in each character’s emotional graph.

Anu Malik created the song for “Sandese Aate Hai” years before Border, for a different project that never materialised. When Akhtar learned of the song’s scenario, he requested Anu to perform the specific music for JP Dutta, who quickly agreed. But there was a catch: the song featured a free verse, which Akhtar feared would be a stumbling block in its creation. It employs the straightforward imagery of a letter from home, loaded with affection, nostalgia, and sorrow.