Border

Border poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original Bollywood poster of the cult 1997 war film directed by JP Dutta that is considered one of the finest patriotic films ever made in Indian cinema.

Border (1997) was based on the real life story of the historic Battle of Longewala that took place in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. Commanded by Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, a battalion comprising a mere 120 Indian soldiers of the Punjab Regiment valiantly held their position against an assault by nearly 3,000 Pakistani soldiers accompanied by 40 tanks.

Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri refused to desert his post and pull back, despite being given the option to do so by his commanding officer in view of the sheer numbers of the attacking enemy force. For his exemplary courage displayed in the line of duty, he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second highest military award.

Sunny Deol played the lead role in Border (1997), essaying the character of “Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri,” while Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Jackie Shroff, Tabu, Pooja Bhatt, Raakhee, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry and Sharbani Mukherjee played supporting roles.

For his stellar performance in the film, debutant Akshaye Khanna bagged the Filmfare award for “Best Male Debut.” An all-time blockbuster, Border (1997) bagged a total of four Filmfare awards and three National Film Awards, including the prestigious “Best Film on National Integration Award.” It is unanimously considered the finest patriotic film ever made in Indian cinema, making this Border poster, highly collectible!

Printed and circulated a few years after the first release of the film (somewhere in the late 1990s), this classic Bollywood poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This Border poster features lead actor Sunny Deol at the center. Jackie Shroff is seen on the left in his character of an air force pilot, while Akshaye Khanna appears on the top charging with a bayonet machine gun. A Hawker Hunter fighter jet is seen flying in the sky above Pakistani tanks and a formation of the same is seen parked on a military base below.

Typography used in this Border poster is entirely in English, with it’s title appearing in a striking 3D font encasing the map of India. A red Radcliffe Line is seen over the title, signifying the border division between India and Pakistan. 

The soundtrack album of Border (1997) was composed by Anu Malik, while lyrics were written by legendary writer, Javed Akhtar. It became a rage throughout the nation at the time of it’s release and is considered today an absolute must-have in any patriotic event.

The epic song, “Sandese Aate Hai” sung by Sonu Nigam and Roop Kumar Rathod has been catapulted to the hall of fame and frequently features in rankings of all-time best songs of Indian cinema. The song helped Sonu Nigam establish a foothold in the industry and bag several popular songs in subsequent films.

“Hindustan Hindustan” sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Sonali Rathod & Kulbhushan Kharbanda, “Mere Dushman Mere Bhai” sung by Hariharan and “To Chaloon” sung by Roop Kumar Rathod were other very popular tracks from the film.