The journey of Uri The Surgical Strike

Announcement

In September 2017, filmmaker Ronnie Screwvala made the announcement of a film on a significant event in the history of Indian military. He said the film will be based on the surgical strike conducted by the Indian Army on terror launch pads across Line of Control (LoC). Titled URI, Vicky Kaushal played the lead and filmmaker Aditya Dhar, who also wrote the film, took the chair of the director for the first time.

Vicky Kaushal in a still from the upcoming Aditya Dhar directorial Uri

During the announcement, Dhar said, “This is the story of what happened in those eleven days. It’s an honour and very reassuring to be backed by Ronnie Screwvala and to execute on this vision and what we believe is an engaging and thrilling story inspired by this true-life incident.”

Casting

Aditya Dhar, in an interview with indianexpress.com, revealed that Vicky Kaushal was always his first choice to play Major Vihan Shergill in Uri. He said, “Vicky had done only Masaan, Raman Raghav 2.0 and Zubaan when I reached out to him and thought he would fit the part wonderfully. I wanted a fantastic actor who was willing to dedicate himself to the character, prep for it for six-seven months and Vicky was the man.”

Vicky Kaushal with filmmaker Aditya Dhar.

Yami Gautam played an intelligence officer in the movie. As she joined the cast, she, in a statement, said, “Aditya’s passion about the film is infectious and the amount of extensive research he has done is amazing. I am really thrilled to be part of this film. This is the first time I am playing a role like this. I’ve been looking to do roles like this that represent the strength and courage of today’s girls.””

Paresh Rawal played the role of the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Speaking about playing a crucial role in the movie, the veteran actor said, “I knew I had a responsibility while portraying him on screen. I had to maintain a dignity. I had to be true to the character so that people don’t interpret him in a wrong way.”

Paresh Rawal in Uri.

Kashmir-born model-turned-actor Mohit Raina ventured into Bollywood with the Aditya Dhar directorial. He was seen as Vicky Kaushal’s brother-in-law and an army officer Major Karan Kashyap.

Mohit Raina in Uri.

Teaser launch

A year after the announcement, the makers released the teaser of Uri in September 2018. The official description of the teaser read, “A defining moment in India’s military history. A moment that paved a path to a new, stronger India. Presenting the official teaser of URI.” The video left the audience impressed. The intense paramilitary training which Vicky Kaushal went through for the movie showed in the teaser and left everyone wanting more. Paresh Rawal’s dialogue “Yeh Naya Hindustan Hai Yeh Hindustan Ghar Mein Ghusega Bhi Aur Maarega Bhi (This is the new India, it will not only enter the house of its enemies but will also kill them)” went viral.

Trailer launch

The audience received the trailer of Uri: The Surgical Strike well. It crossed 13 million views on social media within four days of its release. Reacting on such a response to the trailer of his film, director Aditya Dhar told PTI, “I never expected such an overwhelming response to the trailer. It’s amazing, wonderful, and great. I hope people come to theatres to watch the film and appreciate it. I want the audience to realize how much sacrifice the Indian Army does for the citizens. I have made this film only to pay tribute to the Army.”

What the stars said about the film

Talking about the film before its release, Vicky Kaushal said, “The topic of patriotism is so relevant today. It is like we are defining what patriotism is. Is it about showing and expressing patriotism or about feeling it? In times like today where we are more vocal about patriotism, it was a huge task to tell this story and convey the message more responsibly. And hats off to Ronnie Screwvala to back this project and to Aditya Dhar for doing this.”

Also read | Uri The Surgical Strike actor Vicky Kaushal: We feel patriotism, army lives it

How’s The Josh

Uri: The Surgical Strike director Aditya Dhar revealed the popular dialogue ‘How’s the josh?’ came from a childhood memory. He told PTI, “I had some friends from defence background, so with them, I used to go to a lot of Army clubs. There was one in Delhi where we used to go for Christmas or New Year parties. There used to be a retired Brigadier who would line up all the kids in front of him and have a chocolate in his hand. He would say ‘How’s the josh?’ and we were to respond with ‘High Sir!’ The kid who was the loudest got the chocolate. Being a foodie, I used to be the loudest and always got the chocolate.”

Team Uri including Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Mohit Raina and others at the success party of the film. (Express Photo: Varinder Chawla)

He continued, “The line was there right from the first draft. As a writer, we write according to our personal experiences, our memories. It is an amalgamation of everything. I had the line with me in my memory and this was the perfect film for it to come out.”

Critical reception

Vicky Kaushal starrer Uri ruled the box office.

In her review of the film, The Indian Express’ film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote, “Uri: The Surgical Strike is slickly made, and on the whole keeps you watching despite some clunky passages. It’s always good to have movies in which the soldiers look real, and the conflict is taken seriously, even if the action is buoyed by such dialogues as ‘unhe Kashmir chaihye, humein unka sar’. If that’s not jingoism, I don’t know what is. The Pakistani big-wigs are shown as a bunch of not exactly incompetents, but incapable of matching up to the Indians.”

Also read | Uri: The Surgical Strike review 

Box office

Vicky Kaushal starrer Uri: The Surgical Strike set the cash registers ringing in the beginning of the year itself. It opened with a collection of Rs 8.20 crore and earned a total amount of Rs 245.36 crore in its eleven-week run in theaters.

Also read | Vicky Kaushal on Uri’s Rs 200 crore milestone: Thank you for keeping the ‘Josh’ so high