Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s mother was sceptical about saying ‘yes’ to ‘Major’

The movie ‘Major’ had to go through a lot of ‘no’ before getting the nod from the family members of slain army officer Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. The movie, a biopic based on the life and ultimate sacrifice of the young army officer, has been making the cash registers ring at the box office, since the first day of its release. Dhanalakshmi, the mother of Major Sandeep, who lost life in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, opens up about why she had decided to give her nod to the makers of ‘Major’. Young actor Adivi Sesh essays the role of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan in the film. Dhanalakshmi had watched the preview of ‘Major’ twice before speaking to ‘Manorama’ about it.

“After Sandeep’s death, many approached us with the desire to turn his life into a movie. However, we weren’t ready for that as we were worried about whether these stories could be made into a film. I was surprised by how people were interested in showing my son’s life on the silver screen. I kept asking myself whether it was right to constantly refuse people. That was when Adivi Sesh and crew came to us. Even my husband Unnikrishnan didn’t have a different opinion. That was how the movie ‘Major’ was born. On 31 May, I had watched the preview at PVR theatre in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru,” says Dhanalakshmi.

Prithviraj came late

Interestingly, on the next day after the agreement was signed for ‘Major’, a Malayali crew approached the family for a film with Prithviraj in the lead role. But, the family said that they couldn’t back out of the agreement that was already signed. Meanwhile, Dhanalakshmi is elated and proud that the audience has been loving the movie. She is thrilled that the entire country would watch Sandeep’s life story as the movie has been released in Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam. Veteran actors Revathy and Prakash Raj play the roles of Dhanalakshmi and Unnikrishsnan. Dhanalakshmi hasn’t met Revathy yet; but, the family knows Prakash Raj for some time. The mother recalls that Prakash Raj was her son’s favourite actor.