Sunny Deol pays tribute to Brigadier Kuldip Chandpuri, who inspired his character in 'Border'

JP Dutta's 1997 war movie '

Border

' happens to be one of the most memorable films in Sunny Deol's career. The actor played the role of an Indian army officer, and the character was based on a real-life hero — Brigadier Kuldip Chandpuri. Brig. Chandpuri, who was key in the Battle of Longewala during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, died this week in Mohali at the age of 78. He was suffering from cancer. The cremation will take place on Monday with full military honours.

Sunny paid a

tribute

to the war hero on social media. He put out a post with pictures of Brig. Chandpuri, and captioned it, 'Sad to know that Brigadier Kuldip Chandpuri passed away today. We will forever stay indebted to this great soldier.' (sic)


Brigadier Kuldip Chandpuri was also awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his heroic act. The citation for his Mahavir Chakra Award reads: 'Major

Kuldip Singh Chandpuri

was commanding a company battalion of the Punjab Regiment occupying a defended locality in the Rajasthan Sector. At the Battle of Longewala, Brig. Chandpuri exhibited dynamic leadership, exceptional courage and determination in holding his command intact and steadfast. He inspired his men moving from bunker to bunker till the reinforcements arrived.'