Because the Indian moviegoing audience is full of arseholes.

Hence, a great movie like Lakshya bombed at the box office. While shitty Shahrukh Khan movies with funky foreign locations and no storyline whatsoever make truckloads of money. That is the Indian movie audience for you. A few words about Lakshya. In 1999, Pakistan attacked India. The Indian and Pakistani armies are fighting a low intensity way all year round on the highest and most brutal battleground in the world: the mountains of Kashmir. During the winter months, both armies have traditionally moved back from their frontline positions on the Line of Control. This has long been a gentleman's agreement. In the winter of 1998, however, the Pakistani army took advantage of the Indian army's withdrawal and proceeded to equip and arm both regular infantrymen (of the Northern Light Infantry) and irregulars (mujahideen, fedayeen and other unsavoury sorts) who built bunkers and lived out the winter. Come spring, the shooting started. People have called this a colossal failure of the much vaunted Indian Intelligence agencies. That is a matter for debate. What happens to be recorded fact though, was that the Indian army came back with a vengeance. Although hobbled by the Prime Minister's decision to not cross the Line of Control (which would have made things much easier, the army could have simply looped across the Paki positions and shot their backsides out; instead of which, they were forced to literally fight their way up), the army kicked Paki and mujahideed arse quite thoroughly.

Ok, so that was about the Kargil war. The movie Lakshya is about a restless young college student with no goals, no ambitions, just an abiding distrust for whatever his father has planned for him who joins the Indian Military Academy for a lark, for no other reason than his friend was writing the exam and he decided to as well. In the first semester of training (which my friends who are in the services have told me is rather.. brutal), he cops out and deserts. He comes home to see that this is exactly what his father had expected him to do. This, and the fact that his hot girlfriend won't have anything to do with a loser lights some kind of spark in him and sends him back. He graduates and like a large number of his batchmates, is posted to a regiment in Kashmir. His regimental commander, Col. Sunil Damle is played to perfection by the great Amitabh Bachhan. It is while standing at the Line of Control and looking over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir is that he begins to understand what it means to be an Indian. And then, the war starts. The high point of this magnificent movie is the raid on Point 5179, an important artillery spotter peak by a small unit for our hero's battalion. THIS LINK has a video of the climb to Point 5179. Check it out. The dialogue at the end of this clip translates to :
Jawan: Sir?
Karan: Yes, Trilok Singh.
Jawan: I feel dizzy when I look down.
Karan: Well, Trilok Singh.. don't look down.
Jawan: Yes Sir.