24 years of Mission Kashmir: Sanjay Dutt in a throwback interview, “Shooting in Kashmir was frightening, we were there right after the Kargil War”

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir completed 24 years recently on October 27. The film, which starred Sanjay Dutt, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta, was an intense action drama with the backdrop of militancy in Kashmir. In a throwback interview, Dutt speaks about his experience of shooting the film and agreeing to do the role of a father despite it being rejected by Amitabh Bachchan initially.Hrithik Roshan thinks you’re amazing in Mission Kashmir. Is this another beginning for your career?I can’t say. What I do know is, when I heard the script I really, really liked it. It offered me a chance to make a transition from a 35-38-year-old man to a 50-year old. That’s something I’ve never done before.But to play someone older than your age is something daring by Hindi cinema’s standards, isn’t it?No, I think all of us should gracefully move on to the next stage of our careers when the time comes. I’m 42, you know.A distributor from Bihar told me the minute you start firing a gun the audience roars its approval. But such roles hardly offer you a chance to evolve as an actorYou’re quite right. That’s why I was so charged when I was offered Mission: Kashmir. I liked my character Inaayat Khan immensely. It’s such an intense character. His journey through life is amazing. He loses his son wife, everything. Lots of my friends told me not to accept the role of Hrithik’s father. I reminded them my mother played a grandmother when she was in her 30s.So, is Mission: Kashmir your Mother India?I don’t know as yet. But it does convey a strong message against militancy. I do hope people take it seriously. It shows how the paradise that was Kashmir was lost. People on both sides of the border want peace, so what’s stopping it?I believe your role in Mission Kashmir was first offered to Amitabh Bachchan?Right. Earlier the film was to be made with Amitji and Shah Rukh (Khan). Something went wrong. Vinod called me. He’s a very honest man. He told me he had approached others and requested me to go through the script. When I read the script, it turned out to be brilliant. And there was such a brilliant role for me.What was it like working in Kashmir?It was frightening, actually. We there right after Kargil and there was danger everywhere. We could hear gunfire all around us. We shot under heavy security arrangements. It was sad to see Kashmir under siege. I had seen it as paradise during my childhood when I went there for holidays and my parents’ shootings.Also Read: Ram Pothineni, Sanjay Dutt starrer Double iSmart to premiere on Prime Video