Uttarakhand flash flood hero’s love story set to hit the big screen

Clearly, Bollywood seems to be high on biopics and real-life stories. Now, HT has learnt that a film based on the true story of a 45-year-old Alwar man, Vijendra Singh Rathore – who found his wife after 19 month-long search after the Uttarakhand flash floods in 2013 – is in the pipeline.

“Vijendra, a father of five, was separated from his wife, Leela, who accompanied him on the Char Dham yatra, when their bus was struck by flash floods. She was officially declared dead and relatives had given up hope but he embarked on a relentless search,” says an insider.

For a year-and-a-half, Vijendra – against all odds and adversities – went across almost 1000 villages. “His love and faith kept him going. He spent difficult nights on the roads with no shelter or food but refused to accept the compensation that the government was offering,” says the insider.

Vijendra was even forced to sell his ancestral land to make ends meet and his young daughters, Lakshmi, Pinki, Pushpa, and Seema, and son Sagar, remained the only constant source of hope and support for him. Now, apparently, Siddharth Roy Kapur has acquired the rights to produce a film based on Vijendra’s heroic tale.

“Siddharth was incredibly moved by Vijendra’s conviction and strength of character. He felt that this awe-inspiring story of love and the resilience of the human spirit had to be told cinematically. The film will be helmed by director Vinod Kapri,” says the insider. Interestingly, this will be Siddharth’s third biopic after he produced last year’s hit biopic, Dangal. He will also produce a biopic, based on astronaut Rakesh Sharma that will star Aamir Khan.