Known for reinventing the thriller genre with his signature blend of suspense, dark humour, and unpredictable twists, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan has always pushed boundaries. He draws inspiration from classic noir to craft narratives that keep audiences on the edge of their seats. However, this week, Sriram steps into bold new territory with the highly anticipated Ikkis, a powerful war drama about the heroics of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, who made the supreme sacrifice at 21 during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
Starring Agastya Nanda as the young warrior and featuring Dharmendra in his final role as his father, Sriram brings his sharp directorial vision to a story of courage and sacrifice. Producer Dinesh Vijan (’Dino’ to his close circle), who backed Sriram’s Agent Vinod and Badlapur, says he had never seen the grey-haired, 62-year-old filmmaker as excited as he was on the sets of Ikkis. Sriram wants to auction the shoes he wore during the shoot to tell the world the distance he covered to tell a story he absolutely loved. “The whole shoot was like an adventure. The thing about adventure is that once it is over, we feel very happy, but while it’s going on, we just try to climb without falling. It took us time to scale the peak, but looking back, it was great fun.” Game for a sports drama now, Sriram talks of the genre shift and finding peace in war.
Edited excerpts:
From noir to nationalist drama, how did this shift happen?
It happened by sheer chance. I was in Dino’s office to discuss the script for Badlapur 2, which I was not happy with. There was too much serial killing, and it didn’t connect with me. I was sitting there wondering what to do when I heard Binny Padda (known for designing film promos) telling Dino the story of Arun Khetarpal. I found it fascinating and asked, ‘Who’s doing this?’ And they said, ‘Nobody’s attached. Do you want to do it?’ I thought for five minutes (laughs), asking myself the same thing that you’re asking me. Is it up my alley? I love all kinds of movies; it’s just that I have no experience with extensive action, VFX, or shooting tanks. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but somehow I said that I’m interested.
As a storyteller, what pulled you to the sacrifice of Arun Khetarpal and his father’s journey?
It’s set in two timelines. One is 1971, when the battle was fought, and the other is 2001, when Arun’s 80-year-old father, who also served the Indian army during the British period, goes back in time to Pakistan as part of the cultural exchange that the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee started, to resolve the conflict after the Kargil War. During this twin-track diplomacy phase, getting the visas became easier. When the senior Khetarpal, born in undivided India, received an invitation from his college in Sargodha, he returned to see if his house still existed. In that journey, he meets a certain Pakistani army person who gives him an insight into his son’s courage and what happened on the battlefront on December 16, barely two months after he turned 21. Arun didn’t even complete his training as a young officer. After one month of rigorous training, he was considered good enough to be in the thick of action. So his story and his father’s story connect and make a lot of cinematic sense to me. I mean, this is a moving human story. It can be set in any conflict zone, between any two countries.
A still from ‘Ikkis’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Tell us about the research part…
I met Mukesh Khetarpal, Arun’s younger brother, and through him, I got a whole list of names, particularly two of Arun’s tank crew members, Nathu Singh and Prayag Singh, who survived the December 16, 1971, battle (of Basantar). We spent two days with them. They would come in their full uniform. Brimming with pride, they told us about Arun and the times. Then I got to meet a number of his NDA batchmates, and a jigsaw was formed. I didn’t want it to be an Amar Chitra Katha kind of story. I don’t even like the word biopic. It’s not like I’m covering his entire life, though it was a short life anyway. Arun continues to be a great inspiration for young soldiers. In cantonments, you will find his busts, portraits, and grounds named after him.
It feels strange that his story has not been told on the big screen so far..
Many years ago, JP Datta tried to make a film about him, but it did not materialise, perhaps due to budgetary constraints and because the tanks used in the battle no longer exist. It took us about 8 months to replicate the Centurion and Patton tanks used by the Indian and Pakistani armies, respectively, during the 1971 war. These were of World War II vintage with their pros and cons. No longer in use, you can only find the Centurion tank standing like a symbol of victory in the lawns of a cantonment. We needed functional models. I didn’t want a single frame where the audience could tell we used VFX. Special effects work well in fantasy films, but not in a realistic portrayal of a war etched in public memory. I didn’t want to use another tank and put a disclaimer. Making models also took time because the actors’ safety during shooting with the monsters was a concern.
The project started with Varun Dhawan playing the lead role. How did Agastya walk in?
Varun and I had just completed our successful collaboration in Badlapur, and he was keen on the idea. By the time we finished our preliminary scripting, the COVID-19 pandemic had happened, and we had to change our plans. As I developed the script, I gradually realised that age is integral to the story. In certain scenes, Arun is shown as 19. The age when Jeetendra could dance around trees in his 40s is over. The script demanded a fresh face, and Agastya was 21 when he was cast.
Agastya Nanda in a still from ‘Ikkis’
| Photo Credit:
Maddock Films/YouTube
The trailer shows that there is more to his casting than his age alone…
We needed an actor who was willing to commit two to three years to the project. Simply put, it’s the story of a boy becoming a man. Young age apart, what Arun did heroically, for which he received the Param Veer Chakra, is something that happened in the last two hours of his life. Till those last two hours, he didn’t know he was a hero. I wanted Agastya to bring that urge to serve and the innocence about the outcome. I guess Agastya’s eyes reflect it.
He comes from an illustrious family, but for me, Agastya was just a boy who had to grow into his character. He spent four months training. First, he attended boot camp to live the life of a soldier, and then, at the Poona Horse regiment, he gained a sense of what it was like to operate tanks.
How did Dharmendra come into the picture?
Ever since we worked together in Johnny Gaddar, we have been in touch. At times, he would call me to suggest a story I should take up. Like he would say, Tuesdays with Morrie is a good idea, or can I do something like The Bridges of Madison County? I promised to find a story for him. When we found one, Dino and I had a long discussion about whether to cast someone in his 80s for the role. In the past, we have seen Sanjeev Kumar and Anupam Kher playing characters much older than their age. I felt we can’t do it anymore. With Dharamji, there was no acting. I mean, his walk, his gait, everything is part of the character. He connected deeply with the story. The pain of leaving his home in Punjab had settled in his body over the years. The idea of revisiting home became a very personal experience — he was totally into the character. He had a keen sense of dialogue and valued the economy of words. I gave him the dialogues, but always asked him how he would like to deliver them. He would offer his own improvisation, and I have used many of his lines. We would often discuss his poetry. I wanted him to get his poems published, but he was in no hurry. I requested him to recite one of his compositions for the film, and it was lovely.
Dharmendra in a still from ‘Ikkis’
| Photo Credit:
Maddock Films/YouTube
Then you have Jaideep Ahlawat as the Pakistani officer…
We needed not just a good actor but someone who could develop chemistry, a certain dynamic, with Dharamji, and Jaideep understood it. When I read the story, he immediately connected because, as I later discovered, he wanted to join the forces but was rejected twice. Like Dharamji, he also connected with the story at a personal level.
The film is coming at a time when jingoistic patriotism is gaining currency at the box office. Are you concerned?
Not really. When I began in 2019, all I had was the story. Now, in six years, so many things have changed. There’ll be good times, there’ll be not-so-good times. Of course, I’m conscious of the kinds of movies being made, but there is no wrong time to tell a good story. We also need these kinds of stories. It is a reminder that a soldier’s family is braver than the soldier. Recently, we conducted a screening for army personnel and received a good response. The Chief of Army Staff said it was good that it wasn’t jingoistic. He also liked how our soldiers’ behaviour towards enemy soldiers is portrayed in line with protocol.
Did you watch ‘Dhurandhar’? There is a section that feels that the film is a counter to your and Sridhar Raghavan’s simplistic portrayal of the espionage space in Agent Vinod and Pathaan, where both India and Pakistan are shown as victims of terrorism.
It is a well-made film with terrific performances, but it is not our kind of film. We must understand that we are living in different times. The earlier James Bond films starring Sean Connery and Roger Moore were fun movies. Later on, Bond films started to get serious. Dhurandhar is one movie. It is doing spectacularly well, and it should. But this is not the only format. If I start following it, it will be the silliest thing to do. Aditya (Dhar) and I shared the National Award stage when he made Uri, and I had Andhadhun. He has a different kind of sensibility and craft, and I love watching his films, but it is not something I would make.
Ikkis releases in theatres on January 1, 2026
