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Every soldier has a story to tell but he has to restrain his feelings and emotions. The soon to be released and India’s first Anti-War movie Bunker, is aimed to bring the stories of million soldiers to the masses. Director Jugal Raja’s Bunker tells one such story of Lieutenant Vikram Singh (Played by actor Abhijeet Singh) as lone survivor with a fatal injury in a secret Bunker at the LOC in Poonch, Jammu, which has been hit by a mortar shell during a ceasefire violation. The film has been showcased in numerous film festivals and was widely applauded for creating awareness on mental health issues amongst armed forces and their families. In a philanthropic move, the makers of the film have announced 100% of the profits being donated to Bharat Ke Veer and Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) as homage to our armed forces. Movie is all set to release on 17th Jan 2020.
Writer – Director Jugal Raja shared, “Rajnikant and Mani Ratnam have been my biggest influences in choosing a career in Bollywood. Bunker is my tribute to the iconic movie Roza. With Bunker, I have tried to make an “Anti-War” movie which is relevant in today’s age of unrest all over the world”. He further added, “The movie brings out the emotional quotient of an Army Soldiers life. It draws instances from lives of several army officers and depicts a biography of millions of souls serving our country.”
Bunker was selected for popular International film festivals like Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival (Italy) and First Time Filmmaker Sessions (London). It was also selected from several prominent Indian film festivals like Jagran Film Festival (Mumbai), Crown Wood International Film Festival (Kolkata), Diorama International Film Festival (Delhi), Jaipur International Film Festival and many more. The film was well received and got critical acclaim for the actors and the director. Director Jugal Raja won Best Emerging Director at the recently concluded Ayodhya Film Festival (Uttar Pradesh).
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95% of the movie was shot in a 12 by 8 feet Bunker in a record 5 days! The Bunker, here is used as a metaphor for a soldiers mind which is always at conflict with the thought of having to stay away from family and duty towards the country, and it will definitely give you a feel of patriotism. 96% of the soldiers feel discussing mental health or accepting any mental health problems holds a big stigma. There are approximately 1.4 million soldiers in India and 100 soldiers have committed suicide every year since 2003. The film brings up important issues like Mental Health, Inter-Personal Relationships between Army families and how a soldier and his family pays the ultimate price for cross border tensions.