Since the announcement of Pippa, it was known that the war drama borrows its name from the Russian tank that the Indian Army used in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. But the trailer tells you its significance. “It’s among the few tanks that can float in water. It actually helped India win the war,” says Ishaan Khatter, when we get on a call with him.

The actor steps into the shoes of Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta, whose book The Burning Chaffees is the foundation for the film. It’s evident that he joined Raja Krishna Menon’s directorial venture, armed with a lot of academic learning. To him, studying for a role is the most exciting part of the process. “With this film, there was a lot of studying required. It is a gargantuan responsibility to represent the Defence Forces. [As prep], we lived for seven days each at two army cantonments, one in Rajasthan and another in Maharashtra. We were taught how to drive tanks. We shot in West Bengal for 45 days and filmed important events like the Battle of Garibpur.