19 Years Of Soldier: 5 Things You Don't Know About The Film

Directed by filmmaker duo Abbas Mustan, Soldier was a major at the box office when it released 19 years ago. The revenge drama featured actors Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta in the lead roles and their on-screen chemistry was lauded by fans across sections. No doubt, it led to Preity Zinta becoming one of the bankable stars in Bollywood, as she had already delivered a hit in form of Dil Se in the same year.

But did you know that Soldier’s music was the third highest selling music album in 1998 after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dil Se? As the film celebrates 19 years of its release today, check out these five lesser known things that you wouldn’t have heard of.

1. Even though Dil Se had released first, which marked Preity Zinta’s debut, Soldier was the first film she had signed, and finished shooting for, before Dil Se.

2. In one of the scenes, where actor Dilip Tahil is shown taking Bobby Deol through a secret passage, it is actually the famous Sydney underwater aquarium.

3. Soldier was Bobby Deol’s first film with filmmakers Abbas Mastan. After its success, they collaborated again for multiple films such as Ajnabee (2001), Humraaz 2002, Naqaab (2007) and Players (2012).

4. Did you know that actors Amrish Puri and Gulshan Grover were also signed for the film but later had to opt out. And we can only assume that it was to portray the negative roles in the film.

5. Vetern actor Rakhee played the role of a widowed mother for the second time in an Abbas Mastan film after Baazigar (1993) that starred Shah Rukh Khan.