Our soldiers are among the best in the world. Their sacrifices are humongous. In this case, we see the 1962 battle of Rezang La, where 120 Indian soldiers refused to back out against a 3000-strong Chinese battalion infiltrating the Himalayas and finally neutralized over 1300 of them before the last brave-heart laid down his life. In an extraordinary twist, the radio operator survived to tell the glorious tale. And the invading Chinese chief actually honored the brave Indian captain in an unprecedented manner as he lay dead in the snow.
120 Bahadur has a plot similarity to the battle of Saragarhi (1897) shown in Kesari (2019), in which 21 Sikhs withstood a 10,000-strong troop of Afghan invaders in British India. But this film’s script, while focusing effectively about showing how our soldiers are unshakeable in resolve, fails to make the scenario as involving as in that film, except in the last 30 minutes.
For the umpteenth time, one thinks of Subhash Ghai’s peak-time maxim — “Ideas don’t make films. Scripts do.” The intention in making this film is pure and brave. The script falters, and the man who okayed it—director ‘Rezy’ Ghai—should have ensured, minus any ‘masala’ elements, that the film gripped the viewer from the start. Sumit Arora’s dialogues generally shine in the narration, though. The way the script is structured, beginning with the survivor, is theoretically sound but the execution is more than a little off-key. Why, for example, should Army superiors disbelieve a man who has managed to survive as the only living bahadur among 120, and they even threaten with a court-martial if it is found that he is lying! A war hero, and a court martial???
Javed Akhtar’s Yaad aate hain is well-written, in the familiar tenor of Hoke majboor from Haqeeqat (written by his father-in-law Kaifi Azmi) and Javed’s own Sandesen aate hain from Border. Sadly, both songs lack the musical punch that Madan Mohan and Anu Malik imparted, and thus seem overtly calculated rather than made for a naturally-flowing human situation.
Javed’s Main hoon woh dharti maa scores lyrically higher, though Amit Trivedi’s tune has a similarity to Lata’s haunting Salil Chowdhury beauty, Jaa re jaa re udd jaa re panchhi from Maya. And the hyped Dada Kishan ki jai song has gone missing. The background score by Satish Raghunathan is alright generally.
Why am I focusing on the importance of music in such films even before I go into details is because of an illuminating remark to me by a fellow scribe at the venue: “This film would have worked for me if it had great songs that enhanced the mood of pathos and enriched a tribute to our jawans!”
The Battle of Rezang-La was fought in under minus 24 degrees Celsius out of compulsion. Daredevil leader Shaitan Singh Bhati (this is a real story after all), played by Farhan Akhtar, was an incurable (that’s the only word I can think of that fits him!) soldier and commanded unflinching respect and loyalty from his troops. Ever innovative in his leadership, he motivated his soldiers to face seemingly insurmountable odds, summoning all their valor even when they had the choice to retreat instead of facing certain death at the hands of the enemy.
The battle had great significance in the Indo-China war where the latter country betrayed India’s trust, attacked us and also wanted to annex Jammu and Kashmir. Thanks, in the main to these 120 bravehearts, this foul plot was nixed.
Technically, 120 Bahadur was impeccable. Ditto the performances. Farhan played Shaitan Singh (there is even a fun discussion on why he was named ‘Shaitan’, which means the devil, but nothing conclusive is mentioned. This was yet another minor and completely avoidable faux pas).
Eijaz Khan and Ajinkya Deo were good as the seniors. The Chinese general actor was impressive. Sparsh Walia as the radio operator exhibits the correct blend of spunk and a novice’s nervousness. The supporting cast of all the jawans is perfect and their performances impressive, especially of Ankit Siwach. In her cameo, Raashii Khanna is alright.
To sum up, the film showcases the potency of what and how much our jawans feel for the country and demonstrates the lack of limits to their patriotic fervor. But I wish the execution was more hard-hitting, and thus audience-friendly.
Rating: ***
Excel Entertainment’s & Trigger Happy Studios’ 120 Bahadur Produced by: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar & Amit Chandrra Directed by Razneesh ‘Rezy’ Ghai Written by: Rajiv G. Menon & Sumit Arora Music: Amit Trivedi, Salim-Sulaiman & Amjad-Nadeem-Aamir Starring: Farhan Akhtar, Sparsh Walia, Sp. App.: Raashii Khanna, Ajinkya Deo, Eijaz Khan, Vivan Bhatena, Ankit Siwach, Ashutosh Shukla, Atul Singh, Brijesh Karanwal, Marcus Mok, Seng Soo Ming & others
