Actor Sidharth Malhotra, who will soon play Kargil hero Vikram Batra on the big screen, has paid a tribute to the martyr on his 21st death anniversary.

Sidharth Malhotra
Sidharth Malhotra.Varinder Chawla

"Salute to the Indian army for their undying service to the nation and To our Kargil hero #VikramBatra who laid down his life today, 21 years ago," Sidharth tweeted on Tuesday.

Sidharth will bring Batra's story alive in the film "Shershaah". The film chronicles the story of Captain Vikram Batra, who sacrificed his life for the country in 1999.

The project is special to Sidharth. "If I had the means then the Vikram Batra film would have been produced by me but because it is made on such a massive scale and I am not well equipped (he is not producing it). Maybe in the future (he will produce films)," the "Student of the Year" actor had earlier told IANS.

The Kargil hero was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest war-time gallantry award.

"Everyone knows about his heroic stories from newspapers and articles. When you meet people who have lived with him, his family or have known him personally, you feel an immense kind of pressure. First, you hope to do justice to his personal life and family," said Sidharth.

"It's something that is very close to my heart. It's like a passion project. It's being directed by Vishnu Varadhan, who is a prolific director from south. He is making his Hindi debut with this film," he added.