Mumbai: On the 25 years of Operation Khukri, actor-filmmaker Randeep Hooda marked the moment and said that it was one of the most successful UN operations of all time and a proud moment for all Indians.
Randeep took to Instagram, where he shared an image of Army personnel and wrote: “25 Years of #OperationKhukri 15 July 2025, marks the Silver Jubilee of a very unique Operation where 232 Indian soldiers and UN observers broke out of a 75 day siege surrounded by thousands of rebel RUF fighters.”
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He added: “The Indian army carried out a breakout/rescue Operation that broke the back of the rebels, bringing everlasting peace to the war-torn country of Sierra Leone. This is one of the most successful UN operations of all time and a proud moment for all us Indians. It was called “Operation Khukri”! @randeephooda_films @ramitts @maj.genrajpalpunia @indianarmy.adgpi @pmoindia_ @unpeacekeeping @presidentjuliusmaadabio @defenceminindia.”
Randeep is all set to star in a war epic drama inspired by Operation Khukri and has bagged the film rights to the military bestseller. Randeep has secured the official movie rights to “Operation Khukri: The Untold Story of the Indian Army’s Bravest Peacekeeping Mission Abroad” by Major General Rajpal Punia, and Damini Punia, setting the stage for his next major project, a military drama chronicling one of the Indian Army’s most audacious operations on foreign soil, reports variety.com.
The film “Operation Khukri” will bring to screen the harrowing real-life events from 2000, when 233 Indian soldiers were held hostage by rebel forces in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and the subsequent high-risk rescue mission that followed. The actor will portray Major General Raj Pal Punia (then a young Company Commander of the 14th Mechanised Infantry), who navigated both the tense standoff and the extraordinary rescue operation amid challenging jungle warfare conditions, according to variety.com. The mission began as a peacekeeping effort but escalated into a tense 75-day standoff that tested the resolve of the Indian contingent, who found themselves surrounded without supplies in the hostile terrains of Kailahun.