The Formidables | History of 9th Gorkha Rifles

The Film

A documentary marking 200 years of the 9th Gorkha Rifles, produced under Moonlight. It is built around interviews with war veterans whose service spans major conflicts in Indian military history, including the China conflict and the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

The Subject

The 9th Gorkha Rifles was raised in 1817, and is distinctive among the Gorkha
regiments in recruiting principally from Khas and Thakuri communities of the
Nepalese hills rather than the Magar and Gurung groups that fill most of the
others.

Its battle honours run through both world wars and every major Indian conflict
since. In 1971 the 4th battalion fought at Basantar in the Shakargarh sector,
one of the largest tank battles of the war, where Second Lieutenant Arun
Khetarpal of the Poona Horse was killed and awarded a posthumous Param Vir
Chakra; the regiment's own Param Vir Chakra came in the same conflict, to
Lance Naik Albert Ekka at Gangasagar on the eastern front. The regiment also
counts Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw among its officers.

A bicentenary in 2017 therefore had two centuries of institutional record to
draw on, and a generation of veterans of 1962 and 1971 who were still available
to be interviewed — a window that closes on its own schedule.

How I Made It

I led the project across its creative and operational sides, covering historical research, scripting, production and animation development. The film sets veteran testimony alongside battles no living witness remains for; those sequences were recreated using motion graphics. Location shoots were conducted with serving officers.

Where It Landed

The film premiered during the bicentennial celebrations at a military event attended by senior commanders and dignitaries. It has since been adopted as the regimental history and continues to screen for recruits and visitors.