- Date of Release: 21 November 2025
- Genre: Action, Drama, Historical, War
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
120 Bahadur
Introduction
The story of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati has been really close to me. And the reason being that I had the absolute honour to play him in a play/skit back in my corporate days. The deadline was of 2 days but the writer-director Akash Srivastava put together such a brilliant play, that it was only about delivering in the moment after that. Luckily after a brief audition and rounds of reading, I was selected for the titular role. I remember reading about Major Shaitan Singh Bhati as a means of my preparation, and that is when I learnt about his life and his heroics in the 1962 Indo-China war. I still remember a force driving me on the day of our performance, and barring a stumble or two on my part (I am NOT a professional actor), the response was overwhelming. And although the screenplay of the new Hindi film 120 Bahadur was different from our play, it brought me so many memories from back in the day, even now I did get my chance to sit and reflect on a film whose story has always been dear to me.
Story & Screenplay
Based on true events and written by Rajiv G Menon and Sumit Arora, 120 Bahadur traces the battle of Rezang La that was fought between the 120 bravehearts of our land who were pitted against a Chinese battalion of thousands of army personnel. Immediately, the seed of this tale is that of an underdog story that we have witnessed on celluloid with the likes of Kesari (2019) or even the Hollywood export 300 (2006). The problem with these tales then remains on how generic the setup usually is, wherein the predictability of the drama becomes a bit of a talking point. Here in 120 Bahadur, you also spot a familiar pattern in the first hour – a heroic introduction to the character of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati (Farhan Akhtar), the quick circling introductions of his troops, some of whom.are shown to be wrestling in the snow only for a ‘rousing’ speech integrated to separate them. It is all too familiar to begin with.
The writing in the first hour did give me an impression of how the skeleton of the drama could have been borrowed from ChatGPT, simply because the narrative unfolds like a checklist – there is a flashback sequence involving the principal characters’ families and the good time that is spent with them against the backdrop of a war homage. You also have the regular tropes of a war buildup with respect to the strategies in play, even as the protagonist does get a chance to warn of a potential attack at the Rezang La, or even a forewarning to a little civilization in the mountains about a possible attack – it all felt too template-driven for a war film, and a little too staged to begin with.
In the same breath, what the film lacked was memorable characters with memorable emotions that would have elevated the drama that much more. Even the Chinese antagonists remain one-note in their approach, almost shrieking and ordering for kills – even as the writing refuses to dwell into their POV. As a result, there is no real characters on both sides – with even the character of Shaitan Singh being pretty one-dimensional with the writing. But all of it does change in a second hour that is absolutely terrific!
Just before the second hour, there is a well-woven tracking sequence of the character of Shaitan Singh going around a village filled with dead bodies, only for the combat sequence to kickstart. The technical prowess of the same can be gauged from the fact that it remains a 5 minute one-take shot that acts as an ominous sign for things to come in the second hour. It is also when the tide of the drama begins to shift, gently tilting towards the inevitable – even as the eventual clash begins between the two battalions.
The impact of the non-linear storytelling isn’t much felt in the first hour, but you see the emotions creeping in during the second hour when the incidents of the battle are narrated by one of the survivors, Ramchander Yadav (a terrific Sparsh Walia). In fact in a scene just after he has finished narrating a passage that marked a death of one from the close-knit group of Indian soldiers, he is asked if he wishes to stop and continue the next day – to which he replies ‘Aise Har Ek Ki Maut Pe Rukne Lage Toh Bohot Samay Beet Jayega’ (if we pause at the death of every martyr, a lot of time will pass), something that tells you a lot about the number of soldiers killed, even while resisting the enemy who had clearly outnumbered them.
I wished that a little more emphasis was on the politics around the transpiring war, simply because that would have added a lot more depth to the proceedings. But the war scenes in general are spectacular without resorting to any jingoism, so much so that a lot of raw emotions grapple you in the second hour. It is here that the ill-fated predictability in the drama that was an issue in the first hour, is flipped in the second – wherein all of your emotions are centered around the lives of the martryed (each one of them is given a special homage in an adrenaline-pumping extended sequence), knowing fully well on how the drama is going to end. A late subplot involving an ongoing inquiry does also contribute to the emotional connect of the viewers, culminating in a finale scene that is immensely moving and hard to shrug off after the film ends. This late flourish ensures that the screenplay is sincere despite the standard tropes employed in the war genre.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues work perfectly in sync with the trajectory of the screenplay – being slightly overpowering and out of place in the first hour, but emotionally driven in the second hour. The music needed to be better in the narrative for the emotions to really connect, but sadly that wasn’t the case here. In fact, the bland nature of the soundtrack also adds to the hollow first hour of the drama, that was home to majority of the criticism. Having said that, the BGM and the sound design compliment the narrative beautifully – be it the emotional bonding of two soon-to-be-deceased characters being played out against the backdrop of a mix of silence and subtle notes of melancholy, or the sound of the gunshots or the bombs that explode – all of it add to the ambience of the drama which is centered around a war.
The cinematography is exceptional and once again at the cost of repeating myself – it really helps when the drama is shown at real locations. The snowy capped mountains, the changing colours of the sky, the shadows – all of it add to the atmospherics of the drama while deep-diving perfectly in the setting through its frames. The editing pattern in war scene particularly is exceptional too – constantly keeping you in the moment without any distractions. I also liked how there weren’t any faster jump cuts during a few hand-to-hand combat sequences, allowing the passages to play out with corruption. The issue was only in the random cutaways to the past in the first hour that felt too formulaic while distancing you from its characters.
Director Razneesh Ghai is technically equipped to elevate the drama, while keeping things simple with the style of narration. This felt like an old-school war drama that was elevated by exceptional technicalities, wherein the director takes time to warm up before absolutely acing the war scenes. The lack of better written characters slightly restricts the emotional connect too, but the director does enough to sprinkle the emotions during the war scenes to nicely elevate the drama. Overall, the direction is pretty good here although slightly hampered by a routine first hour.
Performances
The performances are good although most written characters feel one-dimensional here. Digvijay Pratap as Jemadar Saab, Sahib Verma as Nanha, Devendra Ahirwar as Baingan and Atul Singh as Nihal, all have their moments to shine while being sincere with the reciproation of their respective emotional core. Ankit Siwach as Ramlal, Dhanveer Singh as Jemadar Hariram Singh, Ashutosh Shukla as Dharampal and Brijesh Karanwala as Jairam Kaka are rousing with their respective performances, and all of them manage to impress. Raashi Khanna as Sugan holds her own with a couple of emotional scenes handed to her, although the use of her character in the screenplay is slightly limited. Eijaz Khan as the commanding officer is well restrained and wonderfully uses his body language to convey the emotions of his character. Ajinkya Ramesh Deo as Brigadier carries off his character with grace and dignity while holding onto his body posture, brilliantly so. Vivan Bhathena as Jemadar Surja Ram is wonderful to witness with his heavy baritone while bringing some much needed intensity with his body language.
Sparsh Walia as Ramchander remains the pick of the actors for me, simply because he brings a ray of wide-eyed innocence to his character while coming across as sincere and earnest. There is a likeable quality in him, particularly because of the way his character is written – he is vulnerable and that adds to the depth of his personality while allowing him to standout from the crowd. Farhan Akhtar as Major Shaitan Singh Bhati manages to impress when he chooses to side with his moments of restraint, but faltering in shrieking moments of war cry that skew his performance a bit. There is a genuine sense of earnestness in his demeanor, almost owning the quieter moments of reassurance and solitude but when he tries to hard is the time he falters, thereby ensuring a decent outing here!
Conclusion
120 Bahadur is a film of two halves really – a routine first hour followed by a riveting second hour that ultimately makes for a good watch. If only you can overlook some of the generic tropes of this generic war film, you will get a glimpse of its sincerity that is filled with emotions and boasting of superb technicalities that drive the narrative into the fairly engaging zone. Available in a theatre near you.