Actors Mrunal Thakur and Priyanshu Painyuli have boarded the cast of war drama "Pippa", starring Ishaan Khatter in the lead. To be directed by Raja Krishna Menon of "Airlift" fame, the film will be produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur. Set against the backdrop of 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, the movie will feature Khatter as Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta of the 45th Cavalry tank squadron who, along with his siblings, fought on the eastern front.
The film is based on Mehta's book ''The Burning Chaffees''. The movie's title is taken from the Russian amphibious war tank called the PT-76, popularly known as "Pippa".
Thakur and Painyuli will play Khatter's on-screen siblings in the movie, which will also feature veteran actor Soni Razdan as Mehta's mother. Thakur, who broke out with "Love Sonia", is known for movies like "Super 30" and "Batla House".
Painyuli has starred in critically-acclaimed movies such as Vikramaditya Motwane's "Bhavesh Joshi" and Chris Hemworth-starrer "Extraction". He most recently featured in the second season of Amazon's "Mirzapur".
"With Mrunal and Priyanshu joining Ishaan, we have three of the most exciting young actors coming together. Personally, I'm very excited to work with such extraordinary young talent and look forward to the energy they bring to Pippa," Menon said in a statement.
Producer Ronnie Screwvala said the film will chronicle India's victory in the war through the eyes of the Mehta family.
"I'm glad we have talented actors like Mrunal and Priyanshu on board, who along with Ishaan will spearhead this story of triumph that needs to be told," he added.
Siddharth Roy Kapur said, "We were looking for great actors who would complement each other to create a believable family unit, and with Mrunal,
Priyanshu and Razdan on board to join Ishaan, I am happy that we have more than achieved what we set out to do with the casting."
Ravinder Randhawa, Tanmay Mohan and Menon have penned the movie's script. "Pippa", produced by RSVP and Roy Kapur Films, is scheduled to be released in 2021.
