Bollywood seems to be waking up to meaningful films. The latest to be added to the list is Amrik Kaur’s biopic, titled ‘Sardarni’, that goes for production next year.
‘Lioness of border areas’ Amrik Kaur, who fought militants in Punjab, subject of a biopic | @htTweets https://t.co/iwkVfMzOW6 pic.twitter.com/XMIdoK9BbO
— HT Punjab (@HTPunjab) December 12, 2017
Those of you who are unaware, Kaur from Amarkot is a hero in Punjab and popularly know as the ‘lioness of the border areas’. After her husband's brutal death at the hands of Khalistani ultras in 1991, she stood up armed and fought militancy for his honour. She reportedly killed 18 militants in Punjab.
While her life is nothing sort of a war-zone film, depicting her tale on celluloid makes for an inspiring story. She is a recipient of Shaurya Chakra and also a top gallantry awardee.
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During the peak of militancy, Kaur engaged with the militants in night-long encounters. Besides losing her husband, Kaur lost her two sons to deadly ailments in 2007 and 2010. Kaur died in 2014.
Rupinder Kaur, her daughter-in-law, said, “She once left school after her teacher slapped her because her thinking was that it was an atrocity on children,” Hindustan Times reported.
Kaur was married to Subeg Singh of Bahadurpur in her teenage. Her husband was into agriculture, so the couple made themselves a small farm in Valtoha area near the India-Pakistan border.
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On September 12, 1991, her husband, domestic help Mukhtiar Singh and Kaur were attacked by militants while they were coming back from the fields. She was the only one to make it alive.
“She took the vow that she would eradicate militancy in Punjab, and she started keeping guns,” Rupinder said. “She had three guns in her name alone.”
Talking about Kaur's award, Rupinder said, “Once when she was on her way back from the gurdwara in the morning, she saw a police inspector being shot by militants. She immediately rushed to the police station, and a panel later recommended her name for Shaurya Chakra in 1995,” she said. “During her life, she killed at least 18 militants, and around 24 surrendered before her.”
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Rupinder also pointed out the government apathy towards their family. She claimed, “Since her death, we haven’t received a single penny from the state or the central government. They should at least give us pension.”
Sunil Manchanda is producing the Hindi biopic on Kaur. It is jointly being written by Manchanda, Raman Kumar, Amrik Gill and Abhishek Dudhaiya. The film will be directed by Dudhaiya. Manchanda has earlier produced films like ‘Tere Naam’, ‘Cheeni Kum’ and ‘Pa’ etc.
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Dudhaiya said, “We have stayed in Punjab for six months and done full research on Kaur and met villagers. We will begin shooting next year in Punjab and will release it too in 2018.”
Feature Image Credit: Hindustan Times
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