Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter has been conferred with the honourary membership of the 45 Cavalry of the Indian Armoured Corps in recognition of his portrayal of a 45 Cavalry officer in Pippa. Taking to Instagram, the actor described the membership as an “honour of a lifetime”.
Sharing photos and videos from the ceremony on Instagram, Khatter wrote, “The honour of a lifetime to be conferred upon an honorary membership of 45 Cavalry of the Indian Armoured Corps - which I may now proudly call my regiment! There is no bigger acknowledgment and I only hope to always be reliably and humbly in service in any which way I can be to the bravest and most honourable members of the Indian army,”
“As somebody who came from a life far removed from military exposure, this is truly mind boggling for me. I only did my best as an artiste to bring authenticity to the role of a cavalier but this is fuel for a lifetime to keep giving my heart and soul to every role I essay,” he added.
“Conveying my deepest respect and many thanks for a lovely evening spent at the XLV Officers Mess.Veer Bhogya Vasundhara. Jai hind,” Khatter signed off.
The photos and videos offer glimpses of Ishaan being felicitated with the honour, performing dance moves, and posing with the officers, his family, and the honorary recognition during the celebrations at the officers’ mess.
Khatter played a real-life war hero in the Raja Krishna Menon-directed film Pippa, based on Brigadier Mehta’s book The Burning Chaffees. The film hit theatres on December 2, 2022.
Its title is inspired by the PT-76, a Russian amphibious war tank, popularly known as “Pippa”, which was used during the 1971 War.
Billed as a heroic tank battle, the film highlights the bravery of Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta (Ishaan), a veteran of the 45th Cavalry tank squadron, who, along with his siblings, fought on the eastern front during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
Mrunal Thakur, Priyanshu Painyuli and Soni Razdan round out the cast of the film.
On the work front, Khatter was last seen in Neeraj Ghaywan’s social drama Homebound alongside Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard category in May, where it received a nine-minute standing ovation. Khatter will be next seen in Palash Vaswani’s Jugaadu.
