Mumbai, Jul 26 (IANS): Actor Gurmeet Choudhary, who will be soon essaying the role of Maharana Pratap in the upcoming streaming show ‘Maharana’, has shared his memories as a kid during the Kargil War, one of the greatest victories in the history of the Indian Army, which also established its prowess for executing a war in the mountains.
Gurmeet is the son of Sita Ram Choudhary, who served as Subedar Major in the Indian Army. The actor was born in an Army hospital, something that makes him a bit more of a “Fauji” than his father, as he mentioned on a lighter note.
The actor told IANS, “I was born in an Army hospital so I keep telling my dad, "Main aap se zyada Fauji hoon", because I have been brought up watching my dad and the disciplined life which they have. Since I was a child, I have embedded that quality in me and it’s a feeling of pride to tell everyone that my dad is in the army, protecting the nation. They are the relentless warriors who work hard to protect our nation and a great source of inspiration”.
Recollecting his memories of the war when he was in Kashmir and was a kid, the actor shared with IANS, “When the Kargil war started, I was in Kashmir and I was really young. My dad’s leave was cancelled and we were asked to be on standby as the call can come at any time. There was little fear in us about ‘what if the war starts, what will be the situation, how will things be around?’. So, there was fear of uncertainty. But my mother was extremely strong”.
He continued, "It is said that behind every army officer there is a strong wife supporting and understanding him and my mother was that. I was scared but my mother handled all of us so well and hats off to that. There was a fear in our family but we were together to face it."
Sharing an incident which has left an indelible mark on his subconscious and made him realise why the nation respects its soldiers so much, he said, "I remember that I was on the station and I saw all Army officials around me. People were around worshipping them, offering them food and cheering for them. That’s when I realised the immense respect our nation has towards Army officials. They might be the front warriors fighting but there are many people supporting them which I’m sure does give them a boost and pride."