It seems that Ajay Devgn is giving a tough competition to Akshay Kumar in terms of choosing patriotic projects. The actor will now play the role of IAF war hero, Wing Commander Vijay Karnik (Retd.) in his next project.
Famous film trade analyst cum critic Taran Adarsh posted the following on Twitter:-
Ajay Devgn in #BhujThePrideOfIndia… Will essay the role of Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, in charge of Bhuj airport during the 1971 Indo-Pak war… Directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya… Produced by Ginny Khanuja, Vajir Singh, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Abhishek Dudhaiya. pic.twitter.com/mKDga9Uv3y
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 19, 2019
According to the tweet, Ajay Devgn has been roped in to play the role of the IAF pilot, Vijay Karnik. Titled Bhuj: The Pride of India, the film will be produced by T Series owner Bhushan Kumar and will be directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya.
For those unaware, Wing Commander Vijay Karnik (Retd.) was then a Squadron Leader, in charge of the Bhuj airbase. Along with 50 IAF personnel and 60 DSC personnel, he maintained the IAF airbase successfully at Bhuj, despite heavy bombing by the Pakistani forces during the 1971 Indo Pak War. He also convinced 300 civilians from a nearby village, particularly women, to join them in reconstructing the damaged airbase in time for further operations and was hailed as a hero for his actions.
Talking about the film, Bhushan Kumar told Times Of India in an interview, “This courageous tale needs to be told because we want the current and the coming generation to know about this brave soldier, Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, who played a significant role in India’s victory in the 1971 war. He was heroic enough to take this bold step of involving civilians in a war. Also, who better than Ajay Devgn for the role of Vijay Karnik? We are working with him currently in De De Pyaar De and Taanaji, and we are glad that he is on board for this film, too.”
Interestingly, the real Vijay Karnik is quite ecstatic about this project too. He said, “We were fighting a war and if there had been any casualties of any of these women, it would have been a great loss. But I took the decision and it worked out. I had briefed them where they could take shelter if attacked and they followed it bravely. Also, I could only see Ajay Devgn essaying my character and I’m glad that he’s on board.”
This is not the first biopic that Ajay has volunteered to do. Known extremely for his legendary depiction of Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh in ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’ Ajay Devgn has agreed to don the role of Acharya Chanakya in the much awaited Neeraj Pandey directed biopic.
He is already working on the biopic based on the legendary Maratha warrior, Subedar Tanaji Malusare, titled ‘Tanaji – The Unsung Warrior’ and has also agreed to essay the role of Syed Abdul Rahim, the legendary coach behind India’s golden days in football, which shall be directed by ‘Amit Sharma’. We hope that he does full justice to the role of the legendary warrior that Vijay Karnik has been.
