Sarfarosh (transl. Fervent) is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written, produced and directed by John Matthew Matthan and starring Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre and Mukesh Rishi. John started working on Sarfarosh in 1992. Seven years were spent on the research, pre-production and production till it finally released in 1999. The film deals with an Indian police officer's quest to stop cross-border terrorism.The film was released just before the Kargil conflict when tensions between India and Pakistan were high. On release, the film was both, critically and commercially, successful. The movie received praise, for the cast performances, especially Shah, Khan and Rishi. Its technical aspects, music and story were also praised. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film, and was screened at the International Film Festival of India. The film was remade in Kannada as Sathyameva Jayathe with Devaraj and in Telugu as Astram (2006) with Vishnu Manchu and Anushka Shetty.