Yes, to be precise, it was one of the operations in which I killed seven militants. Real operations are not like what you see in films. Once the operation was over, a lady who was forced to hide a few militants inside her house narrated a story to me. I can never forget it. She told me to tell the story to the world. At that time, not in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a filmmaker some day. Maybe I had the blessings of that old lady.

Through this film I wanted to show that it is outsiders who are creating problems in Kashmir. Locals are just victims in their hands. The impression everyone has is that locals support militants and sympathise with them. I was there when militancy first began in Kashmir. Back then, if you asked people the time, they would give you the time in Pakistan, not India. They thought they would be separated from India. The feeling is not the same now.

You were part of operations to flush out militants in Punjab and Kashmir. You were also there to capture Sivarasan. Why did you choose a story with Kashmir as a background and not the others?

My operations in Kashmir were some of the most difficult in my career as an army officer. Similarly, shooting a film on militancy in Kashmir is the toughest because militancy is still present.

I was the first to break into the house Sivarasan was hiding in. Now, many people are making films on that story but, one day, I will make a film on that operation and it will be based solely on facts. It will be about what I went through, and how bureaucratic hassles ruined the entire operation. There are so many things I want to tell everyone.

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