Mumbai, Nov 12 (IANS): Actor Ishaan Khattar, who is receiving a lot of good response to his streaming film ‘Pippa’, has said that the PT-76 tank or as it is “lovingly” called ‘Pippa is a true war hero and he will never forget the experience of operating a real tank.

ThePT-76is a Soviet amphibious lighttankthat was introduced after WorldWarII in the early 1950s, and soon became the standard reconnaissancetankof the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Treaty armed forces. It was widely exported to other friendly states like India, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and North Vietnam.

In a way, it is the successor of the DD Shermantankwhich was used by American, British, and Canadian forces for the D-Day landings during the Allied invasion of Normandy in WorldWar2.

Talking about his experience,Ishaantold IANS: “ThePT-76tankor as we lovingly call it ‘Pippa’ is a character in the film and is one of the central driving forces of the film if not the only driving force. It was atruewarheroof that time and the fact that we got to shoot and live and interact withPippa, enhanced my performance because as an actor you’re feeding offPippa’s energy given that it’s the titular character.”

Pippawas used in the Battle of Garibpur fought between India and Pakistan for the control of the village of Garibpur, now in Bangladesh. On 20 November, 1971, Indian troops of the 14th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment with 14 supportingPT-76tanks from the 45 Cavalry moved in to capture the areas around Garibpur in (East) Pakistani territory.

The actor further mentioned: “At one pointPippabecame a part of me. Cavaliers were horsemen initially, so it was literally like riding this thing, navigating and controlling it. My body will never forget that experience of being withPippa. It will forever be one of the most special experiences of my life and definitely one of the core memories.”

Produced by Ronnie Screwvala under the banner of RSVP and Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films, ‘Pippa’ is streaming on Prime Video.