This war movie isn't about screaming patriotism. Director Sriram Raghavan’s film Ikkis, starring Agastya Nanda and Dharmendra, tells the true story of Arun Khetarpal, India’s youngest Param Vir Chakra recipient, but it vibes more with melancholy than nationalistic hype. The film uses two timelines, cutting between the brutal 1971 Battle of Basantar and a reflective 2001 meeting between the hero’s father and a former enemy soldier. Jaideep Ahlawat and Simar Bhatia also feature in this biographical drama, which focuses on memory and quiet grief over battlefield spectacle.
Agastya Nanda plays the young lieutenant with a raw earnestness, his bravery feeling like a natural character trait rather than scripted heroism. The older timeline has Dharmendra as the grieving father, whose restrained performance alongside Jaideep Ahlawat’s dignified brigadier forms the emotional core. Their conversations about shared loss, not historical blame, become the film’s most powerful element. The war scenes themselves are tense and grounded, using visual effects to create claustrophobic tank combat without flashy distraction.
Raghavan’s direction and the script, co-written with Arijit Biswas and Pooja Ladha Surti, prioritize silence and subtlety. The score and dialogue never overwhelm, letting the weight of the story rest on the actors’ faces and the stark imagery. This approach makes the final act profoundly moving, a testament to a soldier’s sacrifice and a father’s enduring pain. The film ultimately feels like a respectful, human-scale portrait of courage and its lifelong echoes, a project from Maddock Films that clearly valued emotional truth over formula.
Agastya Nanda plays the young lieutenant with a raw earnestness, his bravery feeling like a natural character trait rather than scripted heroism. The older timeline has Dharmendra as the grieving father, whose restrained performance alongside Jaideep Ahlawat’s dignified brigadier forms the emotional core. Their conversations about shared loss, not historical blame, become the film’s most powerful element. The war scenes themselves are tense and grounded, using visual effects to create claustrophobic tank combat without flashy distraction.
Raghavan’s direction and the script, co-written with Arijit Biswas and Pooja Ladha Surti, prioritize silence and subtlety. The score and dialogue never overwhelm, letting the weight of the story rest on the actors’ faces and the stark imagery. This approach makes the final act profoundly moving, a testament to a soldier’s sacrifice and a father’s enduring pain. The film ultimately feels like a respectful, human-scale portrait of courage and its lifelong echoes, a project from Maddock Films that clearly valued emotional truth over formula.
