Kamal Ghorui
‘Border 2’ made its much-awaited theatrical debut this Friday and delivered exactly what was expected out of the film. It opened at a good Rs 30 crore on Friday and on the second day, one can see the film getting even better. Headlined by Sunny Deol and featuring Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty, the war drama is directed by Anurag Singh. This good opening day number surely raises expectations from the film, to continue its successful box office run in the coming days as well, and reach the benchmark set by ‘Dhurandhar’. Amid the film’s strong opening, Diljit Dosanjh recently took to social media to share a deeply personal memory connected to the franchise. In a video posted on X and later shared by fans, the actor-singer recalled how he was unable to watch the original ‘Border’ in theatres when it released in 1997 due to financial constraints. In the clip, Diljit says, “I remember when the first ‘Border’ came, so many people around me went to watch it but I couldn’t because I didn’t have the money for it. My family also didn’t give me any money for it but even they didn’t have much so how could they spare it. I really wanted to watch the film then. Little did I know that I would get the chance to be in the film one day.”
In the same video, Diljit also spoke about the role he plays in ‘Border 2’, which is inspired by the life of Param Vir Chakra awardee Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon. Expressing admiration for the real-life hero, he said, “Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon ji’s character, what a wonderful character! If you have never read about him, some people know about it, but you should definitely read and understand his life.”It is worth noting that ‘Border 2’, directed by Anurag Singh and jointly produced by JP Dutta and Bhushan Kumar, was in a controversy last year. The issue stemmed from the overseas release of Diljit’s ‘Sardaar Ji 3’, which featured Pakistani actor Hania Aamir, despite a blanket ban imposed by Indian film bodies on Pakistani artistes following the Pahalgam terror attack. This led to speculation that Diljit might be dropped from ‘Border 2’. However, T-Series chief and producer Bhushan Kumar later clarified that Diljit remained part of the project, while assuring Indian cine bodies that he would not collaborate with the singer-actor again after the film.
