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While Sunny Deol has been roped in, the makers are in talks with Ayushmann Khurrana for the parallel lead

Hindi cinema has its fair share of war dramas, but JP Dutta's Border (1997) stands out in public memory. Now, the makers are ready to roll with the sequel. mid-day has learnt that Border 2 is expected to go on floors in the first quarter of 2024. While there has been a change of guard with Dutta Sr passing the baton to
producer-writer daughter Nidhi Dutta, one thing about the sequel remains the same - it will be led by Sunny Deol, who was the pillar of the 1997 offering. Sources say the movie will revisit the 1971 India-Pakistan war. "Nidhi is designing it as the biggest war film made in the country to date. Unlike previous movies that have focussed on only one faction of the Defence Forces, the film shows the joint working of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. It has personal stories of the 1971 war heroes and martyrs," says a source.

Filmmaker JP Dutta with producer-daughter Nidhi; (right) Border was a blockbuster on its release in 1997

Twenty-six years is a long time to separate the Deol, Akshaye Khanna and Suniel Shetty-starrer from its sequel. It turns out JP Dutta was clear he wanted a story that would be a worthy successor. He had penned the original, with dialogues written by his filmmaker-father, the late OP Dutta. "The idea was conceived of in 2022, and the script finally locked in April 2023, with the screenplay and dialogues penned by Nidhi. It took a year and multiple trips to Delhi to get necessary permissions from the Defence Ministry to shoot in real locations and use real names."

It will be a heart-warming reunion for the Duttas and leading man Deol, who has had a meteoric rise after the smashing success of Gadar 2: The Katha Continues. He is expected to be joined by Ayushmann Khurrana as the parallel lead. The source adds, "The Duttas knew from the word go that they wouldn't make Border 2 without Sunny. Ayushmann's contract is expected to get locked by next week. The remaining cast will be finalised over this month and next." While Nidhi is the brain behind the project, she is said to have entrusted the directorial responsibility to Anurag Singh, known for the Akshay Kumar-led period drama, Kesari (2019).