'Dangal' girls join Vicky Kaushal in Sam Manekshaw's biopic

The ‘Dangal’ sisters, Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Sheikh, have joined the cast of the film Sam Bahadur, based on the life of Sam Manekshaw, the former Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian army during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, and the first Indian army officer to be promoted to the rank of field marshal.

Meghna Gulzar, the director of Sam Bahadur, took to Twitter to announce the new additions to the cast of her eagerly-awaited biopic on the occasion of the ’50th anniversary week of the historic 1971 war’. In June 2019 itself, the first look of the film with Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal playing the protagonist was revealed, and Kaushal had declared on social media how “honoured, emotional and proud” he was for getting a chance to unfold the journey of this fearless patriot, the swashbuckling general, the first Field Marshal of India- Sam Manekshaw.

In April 2021, Meghna titled the film, and now she has unveiled her lead actresses. While Sanya Malhotra (recently seen in Meenakshi Sundaram) will play his wife, Silloo – Manekshaw’s pillar and strength, Fatima Sana Shaikh (last seen in the Netflix anthology Ajeeb Dastaans) steps into the shoes of the former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

50 years ago, this week, India triumphed in the historic 1971 war. Another reason it is also special for us is that we welcome @sanyamalhotra07 as Silloo Manekshaw and @fattysanashaikh as Smt. Indira Gandhi to our #Samबहादुर family!
Eager to experience this very special journey! pic.twitter.com/acTJGu4ova

— Meghna Gulzar (@meghnagulzar) December 13, 2021

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Besides tweeting about the news, Meghna Gulzar also said that she has much to celebrate… “There is pride in the commemoration of 50 years of the historic win of our forces in the 1971 War. And it’s very exciting to have Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh join the team of Sam Bahadur. Both their roles in the film require a great deal of sensitivity, dignity, and composure and I’m looking forward to the ladies bringing these characters to life.”

Earlier too, the Raazi director had shared a statement saying that they don’t make men like Sam Manekshaw anymore. “He was a soldier’s soldier and a gentleman’s gentleman,” she had said. This project is the second collaboration between Gulzar and Kaushal after their 2017 blockbuster Raazi. Bhavani Iyer, who has co-written the adapted screenplay of Raazi, has penned the script of Sam Bahadur, with dialogues by Badhaai Ho writer Shantanu Srivastava.

Meanwhile, an excited Sanya too shared the news on social media and wrote, “Behind every successful man is a strong independent woman who supports him in all his endeavours. It’s with great honour that I get to play one such woman, Silloo Manekshaw, the wife of India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. While Fatima said, “A woman who defines courage, power and dignity! It’s with great pride that I am joining the team of #Samबहादुर to depict the role of India’s first female Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi!

Behind every successful man is a strong independent woman who supports him in all his endeavours. It’s with great honour that I get to play one such woman, Silloo Manekshaw, the wife of India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.

— Sanya Malhotra (@sanyamalhotra07) December 13, 2021