Border was J.P. Dutta’s dream project. His debut film, Sarhad (1976), which was later shelved, was also backdropped on war.
The film is based on the Battle of Longewala during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. The story centres on an all-night engagement between Indian soldiers and the invading Pakistani army.Dutta had approached former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao for permissions.Sanjay Dutt was initially set to lead the film. He’d previously worked with JP Dutta in Kshatriya and Hathyar.However, Sanjay couldn’t do the film due to his jail sentence. He was replaced by Sunny Deol.Juhi Chawla and Manisha Koirala were approached for the film but opted out.Akshaye Khanna’s role was offered to Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. All of them declined.While the real Battle of Longewala reported only two Indian casualties, the film exaggerated this number for dramatic effect.While the real Battle of Longewala reported only two Indian casualties, the film exaggerated this number for dramatic effect.The film is dedicated to J. P. Dutta’s brother, an Air Force pilot who died in a MIG crash in 1987. Dutta referred to his brother’s diary for the film.Both the Indian Army and the Air Force provided authentic vehicles and ammunition for the film.The aircrafts shown the film were end-of-term Hawker Hunters and MiG-21s.Border was shot in real locations in Bikaner in the Thar Desert. Additional filming was done in Jodhpur.The film marked the second release of Akshay Khanna. J. P. Dutta had worked with Akshay’s father, Vinod Khanna, in Batwara and Kshatriya.Border won three National Awards and Four Filmfare Awards besides others.The film’s songs were composed by Anu Malik. The anthemic Sandese Aate Hai, penned by Javed Akhtar and voiced by Sonu Nigam, was a popular hit.Border was the highest grossing domestic release of 1997.It was beaten by Dil Toh Pagal Hai in the worldwide gross.Sharbani Mukherjee, cousin of Kajol and Rani Mukherjee, made her debut in Border. She has since appeared in Tamil and Malayalam films.In 2013, J.P. Dutta had announced a sequel to Border. His last release was Paltan (2018), based on the Indo-China War.