Mumbai: On the occasion of India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s 111th birth anniversary, Vicky Kaushal took to social media to pay a heartfelt tribute to the legendary military leader.
The actor, who portrayed Field Marshal Manekshaw in the biographical film “Sam Bahadur,” shared a poignant message honoring his remarkable legacy and contributions to India’s history. On Thursday, the ‘Uri’ actor took to his Instagram stories and shared a black and white photo of Sam Manekshaw. He captioned the post, “Happy Birthday, Legend.” Vicky also added Shankar Mahadevan and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy’s song “Banda” from his film Sam Bahadur to the post. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, who co-wrote the film with Bhavani Iyer and Shantanu Srivastava, the movie also starred Vicky Kaushal in the title role, alongside Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Neeraj Kabi, Edward Sonnenblick, and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
The biographical war drama was based on the life of India’s first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, under the banner of RSVP Movies, the film was released on 1st December 2023. For the unversed, in 1934, Sam Manekshaw, a cadet, became part of the inaugural batch of gentleman cadets at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. Among his peers was his junior and future rival, Tikka Khan. Upon graduating that year, Manekshaw was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the 12th Frontier Force Regiment in Ferozpur.
Sam Manekshaw dedicated four decades to serving in the Indian Army, notably leading the country during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Born in Amritsar to a doctor father, he hailed from a family with strong military ties, with his brother Jemi attaining the rank of Air Vice Marshal in the Indian Air Force. Over the course of his extraordinary career, Manekshaw fought in five wars, starting with World War II and later in the 1948, 1965, and 1971 conflicts with Pakistan, as well as the 1962 Indo-China War. Meanwhile, Vicky Kaushal was recently seen in the film ‘Chhaava,’ where he played the role of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.