Diljit Dosanjh’s first look as fierce fighter-pilot avatar sets the stage for Border 2

The first look of Diljit Dosanjh from Border 2 has landed, and it pushes the tone of the film straight into high-intensity war drama. The image, released on Monday by the makers, shows the singer actor as a battle-worn fighter pilot, blood on his face, eyes locked with the kind of resolve you associate with stories of the front line. It’s a sharp shift from his usual screen persona and signals the scale of the film Anurag Singh is steering.

Border 2 carries the weight of legacy. The original Border, directed by JP Dutta in 1997, became a defining war film for Indian cinema. It covered the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and gave audiences unforgettable performances from Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and others.

The sequel has the task of living up to that memory while finding its own emotional and visual language.

Diljit’s look hints at the direction the new film is taking. He appears inside a jet that has clearly taken damage, while enemy aircraft swarm the background.

There’s no glamour in the frame, only the rawness of combat. T-Series, releasing the still, captioned it with a line about “Guru’s falcons guarding the nation’s sky”, placing his character firmly in the patriotic, sacrificial space the franchise is known for. Suniel Shetty, one of the stars of the original, dropped a reaction under the post, marking his approval.