‘120 Bahadur’ Movie Review: Farhan Akhtar’s War Drama Is Undercut by Textbook Cliches and Safe Storytelling (LatestLY Exclusive)

120 Bahadur Movie Review: In 2004, Farhan Akhtar directed his second film, Lakshya, set against the backdrop of the Kargil War with Hrithik Roshan in the lead. Although the film earned positive reviews and still enjoys well-deserved affection, Lakshya didn’t work at the box office. Now, 21 years later, Farhan returns to the war genre - this time as an actor - playing a real-life war martyr in Razneesh Ghai’s 120 Bahadur, which he also produces. ‘120 Bahadur’: Farhan Akhtar Shares Heart-Wrenching Lullaby From His War Saga; Film Honoured with Special ‘My Stamp’ by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

I mention Lakshya not only because Farhan is revisiting the genre, but because he has inadvertently set the benchmark for himself - a comparison 120 Bahadur simply cannot escape.

'120 Bahadur' Movie Review - The Plot

120 Bahadur is based on the real-life Battle of Rezang La during the 1962 Indo–Sino War, where 120 soldiers of the Charlie Company fought valiantly against a massive Chinese force in the Rezang La pass (now in China-occupied Tibet). Farhan Akhtar plays Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Shaitan Singh, who led from the front and died along with his men, most of whom were Ahirs from the same village.

Their heroic stand is narrated by Ram Chandra Yadav (Sparsh Walia), the regiment’s newly joined radio operator, presented here as the sole survivor (though historically, six soldiers survived). He even narrates incidents he wasn’t present for - including scenes inside the Chinese camp - but he serves as the audience’s POV into the regiment and, in particular, into the persona of the fearless yet compassionate Shaitan Singh.

Watch the Trailer of '120 Bahadur':

Shaitan Singh’s introduction is effective: he calmly walks towards a suspected sniper hideout, reminiscent of Sunny Deol’s swaggering stroll in Border (1997). But unlike Deol’s enemy-trolling theatrics, this moment has purpose - he gauges the wind and executes a sharp, clever manoeuvre. It’s a genuinely cool scene, one that the film later calls back to.

I only wish 120 Bahadur had more moments like this.

'120 Bahadur' Movie Review - Template-Driven War Drama

Because beyond that, the film falls back on a tired, textbook Bollywood template: thinly written supporting characters sharing back-thumping banter before their doomed mission; the obligatory 'missing home' song; flashbacks to Shaitan Singh’s devoted wife (Raashii Khanna) celebrating Diwali early so he won’t miss it; and lines of optimism about a future that exist solely for tragic irony because you know their fates beforehand. It’s all predictable. All mechanical.

Which brings me back to Lakshya - a war film that reinvented the narrative popularised by Border by grounding its characters and avoiding clichés, even while using a fictional story. 120 Bahadur, despite being based on real soldiers, does the opposite. Every character speaks in generic, chest-thumping lines about bravery, the soil, or patriotism. When fictional soldiers in a 2004 film avoided these tropes, why force them onto real ones? Why turn them into cardboard figures? When a soldier is shown grieving for his comrade, it is a genuinely humane moment, yet the film has to treat it as yet another moment to inject more verbal bravado.

Even the dialogues (by Sumit Arora) waver between motivational jingoism and unintentional comedy. There’s a moment when Eijaz Khan asks Shaitan Singh if he misses his family - a question so banal it borders on bizarre. What answer could he possibly expect? You miss Javed Akhtar's prose from Lakshya.

The film’s old-school approach weighs down 120 Bahadur even as it reaches the battle sequences. Structurally, it resembles Kesari more than Border - the same small regiment, the same overwhelming one-dimensional enemy, the same blend of banter, melodrama, and 'last stand' heroics.

Be it Border, Lakshya, or even Kesari for that matter, those films captured the terrain so vividly that it became a character in itself. In 120 Bahadur, however, the snowy expanse of Ladakh - standing in for Tibetan territory with some help of green screens - feels more like a plain backdrop with no discernible personality, aside from references to its biting cold or its poetic positioning as the 'crown of the country'. There was room to be far more incisive about the flawed infrastructure that handicaps our army. I’ve seen this beat in Border and again here - the protagonist warns of an obvious attack point, the superiors dismiss it, and by the time they realise he was right, it’s too late. There’s a scene where the Chinese unit is shown being served proper food, while the Indian soldiers appear to be drinking what looks like slop. But if you’re expecting 120 Bahadur to engage more critically with the army’s systemic failures, you’re being too optimistic. The film only offers the faintest hints if you read between the thin lines. ‘120 Bahadur’ Song ‘Naina Ra Lobhi’: Farhan Akhtar and Raashi Khanna Shine in This Soulful Romantic Track Sung by Javed Ali and Asees Kaur (Watch Video).

The action sequences are serviceable, with two standing out: one is a tracking shot of Shaitan Singh clearing out Chinese soldiers in a ravaged village, videogame-like but effective; the other is the regiment’s final stand, underscored by "Dada Kishan Ki Jai". But even these scenes aren’t impactful enough, handled with a kitschy detachment that undercuts the emotion. The sacrifices feel like boxes being ticked, rather than moments meant to devastate.

'120 Bahadur' Movie Review - The Performances and Music

Unfortunately, the film’s flaws extend to its leading man. Farhan Akhtar the actor has endured longer than Farhan the director, though the quality ratio sits the other way around. Here, it feels like a very 'Farhan Akhtar performance' - you rarely see Shaitan Singh the character. His accent is too city-polished, and even in the rousing speech moments, the delivery lacks real fire. Raashi Khanna appears mostly in a cameo.

Newcomer Sparsh Walia, who reminded me at times of both Zahaan Kapoor and Kartik Aaryan, shows promise. Vivan Bhatena is also quite good as Shaitan Singh’s deputy. The rest of the supporting cast do what’s required, though their characters never quite make the leap into memorability.

The soundtrack, barring "Dada Kishan ki Jai" to some extent, is fairly ordinary. Amit Trivedi’s background score does much of the heavy lifting, working overtime to generate a sense of rousing emotion that the scenes themselves don’t quite earn. And that’s the problem - some of the most memorable war films before 120 Bahadur had striking, lasting soundtracks, even Lakshya (Farhan’s own banner, Excel Movies, still proudly carries its iconic theme). This one simply doesn’t.

'120 Bahadur' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

120 Bahadur, even respecting its intentions and its righteous heart, never finds the emotional or cinematic muscle to honour the story it’s telling. The bravery of Rezang La deserved a film that cut deeper - not one that kept falling back on clichés and patriotic shorthand. You walk out respecting the martyrs, but not the movie that tried to portray them.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2025 12:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).