India, May 23 -- Dil diya hai jaan bhi denge, aye watan tere liye - the song from the film Karma (1986) plays in the background as actor Dipannita Sharma walks towards India Gate. Almost as a reflex, she salutes looking towards the iconic monument.

"I feel so proud to be part of this country where we have such brave soldiers who have been protecting us. Sometimes, we don't even know what's going on at the borders and yet live in peace with our families because our soldiers are safeguarding our country and its people," she muses during her recent trip to the Capital, which marked her theatrical debut on stage as part of a play titled Ishwar.

Having debuted in Bollywood with the 2002 film 16 December, where she played an Indian officer, s...