Ajay Devgn is all set to play IAF Wing Commander Vijay Karnik in his next film. Ajay Devgn is all set to play IAF Wing Commander Vijay Karnik in his next film.

After the tough cop act in Rohit Shetty’s Singham films, Ajay Devgn is all set to play Vijay Karnik, an IAF Wing Commander, in a film titled Bhuj The Pride Of India. Written and directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya, the film is based on true events and will tell one of the most interesting war stories.

According to the makers, “Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik was in charge of the Bhuj airport during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was Karnik and his team, with the help of local women, who reconstructed the destroyed Indian Air Force airstrip at Bhuj in Gujarat, in what could be termed as India’s ‘Pearl Harbour’ moment.

The airstrip had been wrecked in air strikes that saw Pakistan drop bombs on it. Karnik convinced 300 fearless women from a nearby village to rebuild the airstrip so that a flight carrying Indian Army officers could land safely. He, along with two other officers, 50 Air Force soldiers and 60 Defence Security personnel, did a great job of keeping the airbase operational despite heavy Pakistani bombing.”

Talking about the film, Bhushan Kumar said in a statement, “This courageous tale needs to be told because we want the current and the coming generation to know about this brave soldier, Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, who played a significant role in India’s victory in the 1971 war. He was heroic enough to take this bold step of involving civilians in a war. Also, who better than Ajay Devgn for the role of Vijay Karnik? We are working with him currently in De De Pyaar De and Taanaji, and we are glad that he is on board for this film, too.”

1971. Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik & team. 300 Brave Women. Reconstruction of a wrecked Indian Air Force airstrip. ‘Bhuj- The Pride Of India’ pic.twitter.com/HZYxPOn0Du — Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) March 19, 2019

Narrating the tale of the war, Karnik also expressed happiness on Ajay Devgn playing his part on the silver screen. “We were fighting a war and if there had been any casualties of any of these women, it would have been a great loss. But I took the decision and it worked out. I had briefed them where they could take shelter if attacked and they followed it bravely. Also, I could only see Ajay Devgn essaying my character and I’m glad that he’s on board,” he said.

Bhuj The Pride Of India will be co-produced by Krishan Kumar, Ginny Khanuja, Vajir Singh and Abhishek Dhudhaiya.

Ajay Devgn is currently basking in the success of his adventure-comedy Total Dhamaal. The Indra Kumar directorial has crossed the Rs 150 crore mark at the box office.

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