Mumbai, 02 Oct 2020 : On the occasion of her father, filmmaker JP Dutta’s birthday, his daughter Nidhi Dutta highlights the fact that his birthday a day after Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) is not a mere coincidence. “Mahatma Gandhi was the father of the nation, who made everyone realise that a vision for a free and empowered India was worth spending an entire life fighting for. But many people don’t do anything in their entire life to make a difference to the country. But my dad is different. With the kind of patriotic movies that he has made, he influences people’s lives. Now I know why his birthday is so close to Gandhiji’s,” says Nidhi.
She adds that the purpose of her father’s life is to not just make movies and earn fame and recognition, but to make films that make a difference. “When you come out of a theatre after watching his work, you come out with a lesson — whether it was Ghulami, where we learnt about the zamindars and farmers of India or India’s only war trilogy made by him, remembering all the jawans who sacrificed their lives for our safety and the families that lost their sons, fathers, brothers to make our tomorrow more secure. My dad highlights stories that we would have never known, and names that would have appeared in the newspapers just for a few days and be forgotten by the civilians once the next big news story came up…Now Every time a kid wants to know what happened in 1967, 1971 or 1997, all he/she needs to do is watch Paltan , Border or LOC and history will be brought alive again in front of their eyes and they will be able to connect and feel the emotions of our heroes and their families”says Nidhi.
She feels proud that her dad made a film like Border, which inspired so many people to love their country and even join the army. “Everyone understands the special feeling they experience when listening to Sandese Aate Hain. I have seen kids, aged 8 and 9, run to my dad at airports and have their parents tell him how obsessed their kids are with Border. I have seen mothers of martyrs thank my dad for bringing their kids to life again. So many fathers have told my dad that after watching Border hundreds of times, their sons insisted on joining the army and fighting for our nation. I think these are his awards. My dad has never wanted or needed anything else,” says the proud daughter.
