Ikkis — The Weight of a Story Too Big for Its Frame

Ikkis

Hindi - Biopic
144 min
Prime Video

 

2nd Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal was all of 21 when he was killed in action, after bringing down 10 Patton tanks of the enemy in the Battle of Basantar.

In times of global conflict, and when Dhurandhar is the toast of the nation, Sriram Raghavan brings us a unique “anti-war” war film — one that lands with very mixed results.

The story unfolds with Brigadier Madanlal Khetarpal (Dharmendra) being invited to Sargodha (now in Pakistan) by Brigadier Mohd. Nissar (Jaideep Ahlawat), 30 years after Arun’s martyrdom. Nissar hosts Khetarpal Senior in his home and takes him around.

On the final evening, Nissar — who has long carried the burden of being the man who fired the shot that killed Arun, reveals the truth to Madanlal. This forms the emotional core of the film, while Arun’s years in the NDA, his romance with Kiran, his love for his tank Famagusta and eventual battle unfold across two timelines.

Doing justice to a war hero’s story is always a huge responsibility and challenge.   With limited material available, Writer-director Sriram Raghavan attempts to piece together the story of India’s youngest Param Vir Chakra awardee.  Inspite of good performances, the film feels like a short 40-minute episode stretched across a full cinematic canvas, never quite finding the scale it is reaching for.

The Battle of Basantar unfolds on screen in a very interesting way - almost like a skirmish between two elephant herds, oddly devoid of speed, aggression, or stealth. The conversations between Nissar and Madan are well written, attempting to draw a line between duty and humanity. However, despite being thoughtfully performed, the theme will struggle to find resonance with contemporary audiences.

Jaideep Ahlawat brings grace and class in his performance. Dharmendra’s final on-screen appearance is a lovely way to remember the actor, despite the slightly slurred dialogue delivery and a rather poorly executed younger version (by the makers).

Agastya does reasonably well as Arun. His scenes as the young cadet are perhaps his strongest, and he holds his own in the battle sequences. The rest of his performance, however, feels as middling as the writing, with a few rough edges. Simar Bhatia as Kiran is pleasant and does adequately in her limited scenes. Sikandar Kher, Mukul Dev and Vivaan Shah play key characters as well.

The music is a major letdown — none of the songs linger, and the background score feels template-driven. It almost feels as though the studio realised the film’s limitations midway and did just enough to see it through.

I now find myself wanting to revisit the well crafted Doordarshan series Param Vir Chakra, which featured actors like Farooque Sheikh, Naseeruddin Shah, and Annu Kapoor retelling the stories of our nation’s war heroes. Perhaps some stories are better told simply, without the burden of scale, and without the need to become cinema.