Storyline: Ikkis tells the story of India’s youngest Param Vir Chakra Awardee Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal (Agastya Nanda), who achieved martyrdom at the age of 21 in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The movie also narrates a parallel story of Arun’s father ML Khetarpal (Dharmendra) who visits Lahore in 2001 to attend his college reunion. He is hosted by Pakistani officer Brigadier Jaan Mohammad Nisar (Jaideep Ahlawat) for a deeply personal reason.
Review: Ikkis is primarily about a young man who fought the 1971 India-Pakistan war and attained martyrdom. In a typical Hindi war film, we would have shown his life from childhood or teenage years to him joining the army, fighting for the nation and ultimately sacrificing his life for the country.
But Ikkis isn’t a typical war film by any means. Along with portraying the martyrdom of the young man, the film gives equal importance at giving an anti-war message through the track of Dharmendra and Jaideep Ahlawat. It says loudly without saying much – ultimately there are humans on both sides of the border who die during a war. And the film achieves this even while showing the bravery of a young martyr.
The genre itself in both the tracks is different. But Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas and Pooja Ladha Surti’s writing and Raghavan’s handling as a director doesn’t make it appear so. This is largely because the pre-war portion and, more importantly, the war sequences in 1971 are devoid of any glorification of war and jingoism.
Hence, this is a rare Bollywood film on India-Pakistan war where, as an Indian, you don’t rejoice when the Pakistani soldiers are killed. The presentation is such that it won’t let you simply because it treats the killing of soldiers on both the sides as nothing but war casualty.
Ikkis peaks the most in the pre-climax and the climax. This portion is lit up by the genius of Dharmendra. In fact, he is lively in the entire film. One just can’t stop getting moved every time he says or does something. His final good bye will be talked about for long.
However, Jaideep Ahlawat matches Dharmendra and doesn’t let the latter overshadow him. This is no mean achievement. This one is easily one of his best acts, if not his best. However, it is surprising to see his character look almost the same in scenes where he is 30 years younger in 1971. Agastya Nanda, in his first theatrical outing, displays utmost confidence and the right skills needed to play this character. Simar Bhatia displays her charm and acting talent in her debut.
Rahul Dev, Sikandar Kher and Vivaan Shah chip in with useful supporting acts as Khetarpal’s fellow army men. Ekavali Khanna once again shows how talented she is while playing Ahlawat’s wife. Avani Rai, as his daughter, also gets noticed. Deepak Dobriyal is memorable in a cameo.
Ikkis is also technically sound, especially when it comes to the camerawork by the veteran Anil Mehta.
Coming to the minor flipsides, the movie could have been crisper in the first half. The competition that Khetarpal and his fellows take part during their training days could have been shorter and better explained.
Overall: Ikkis is a war drama that gives a powerful yet subtle anti-war message. The movie brings forth another dimension of the highly talented Sriram Raghavan. Due to the nature of the subject, the film isn’t expected to do much at the box office.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Maddock Films
Cast: Dharmendra, Agastya Nanda, Jaideep Ahlawat, Simar Bhatia, Ekavali Khanna, Avani Rai, Rahul Dev, Sikandar Kher, Vivaan Shah
Also read: Dhurandhar Review: Well-crafted spy drama
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