Within three days, two power-packed promotional events were held in Mumbai, one for the film, 120 Bahadur, which hits screens on November 21, and the other for The Family Man Season 3¸which streams on Amazon Prime Video from the same day.
For a film looking back at the 1962 Indo-China war, the venue for the music launch of Excel Entertainment’s 120 Bahadur could not have been apter than Mumbai’s oldest cinema (and earlier plays and opera) theatre, the Royal Opera House, now refurbished as an event venue. The feel was of the old-fashioned music releases wherein all the songs were presented to the audience, and the creators of the music were personally attending the event.
Present at the event were producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, composers Amit Trivedi, Salim-Sulaiman and Amjad-Nadeem-Aamir (!!), Javed Akhtar who has penned all the lyrics, and singers Sukhwinder Singh, Javed Ali, Asees Kaur, Subhadeep Das Chowdhury, Chirag Kotwal, Utkarsh Wankhede. Obom Tangu and Shreya Ghoshal were not present.
However, about 10 actors essaying a part of the 120 bravehearts in the 1962 Battle of Rezang La, fought on November 18, 1962, were also present, including Ankit Siwach, Vivan Bhatena, Sparsh Walia, Ajinkya Deo, Eijaz Khan, Ashutosh Shukla, Atul Singh, Brijesh Karanwal and Devendra Ahirwar.
Much of the encomiums by the singers and composers were heaped on Javed Akhtar, who has written the punch-packed lyrics, all of which were enacted on stage— Main hoon woh dharti maa and Yaad aate haincomposed by Amit Trivedi, Dada Kishan ki jai composed by Salim–Sulaiman and Naine ra lobhi composed by Amjad- Nadeem-Aamir.
Raashii Khanna enacts the role of leading man Farhan Akhtar’s wife, and Farhan plays the valiant Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, who was posthumously conferred the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military honor, for his bravery.
The film is a tribute to the soldiers who, in a battalion of 120, fought 3000 Chinese troops 5500 meters above sea level in Ladakh in this battle, killing 1300 of them. Eventually, the Indian troops were forced to withdraw to high mountain positions. After the battle, their valor was even recognized by the Chinese, who covered the bodies of the Indian soldiers with blankets and even placed bayonets over them so that the makeshift covers did not fly off. This mark of respect is exceptional and atypical of practices of that time.
The Family Man
The scale for the trailer launch was big, with the 11 a.m. invitees provided a complete breakfast spread around noon; a counter where one could photograph oneself as a “Wanted” personality with a height scale behind; and even a “Lie Detector Counter” where a clone of Manoj Bajpayee a.k.a. Srikant Tiwari, the titular character of the successful series, The Family Man.
The presentation was also grand, with directors Raj & DK, Amazon Head of Original Content, India, co-directors Suman Kumar and Tusshar Seyth, actors Manoj Bajpayee, Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, the two antagonists, Jaideep Ahlawat and Nimrat Kaur, Seema Biswas, Dalip Tahil and Dhriti Tiwari also present. The trailer drew huge cheers and the waiting game of five years for a new season is over as it streams on November 21 in more than 200 countries.
When I asked Raj & DK why they have not directed movies like Go Goa Gone (the duo had even written and co-produced the 2018 blockbuster Stree), and whether they have now got used to the long-format narration with back-to-back series like this franchise, Guns & Gulaabs (on Netflix), Farzi and Citadel: Honey Bunny, Raj mock-complained that the OTT platform has never given time enough to work on a movie. But he promised that Raj & DK will come back with a movie in 2026.
Asked by another scribe if they had ever thought of a prequel to the first season (which came in 2019), the directors quipped that they would have to use VFX to make their protagonists look younger! But Manoj asked the reporter why he was making the platform and the directors choose someone other than him to essay Srikant’s role. Sharib Hashmi stated that the series made his career, and he could not thank Raj & DK enough. Nimrat and Jaideep both expressed their delight at coming into the hugely-popular franchise.
Raj felt that the success of the show was because it was “relatable” as it was “a combination of who you are and someone you cannot be.” Madhok added that when Amazon went in for new seasons of any show, it was based on two criteria: one, how much was the show loved and two, whether there was a really solid script to justify another season. Krishna DK stated that in the new season, Srikant has revealed to his family who he really is, but instead of running after criminals, his wife and kids were being chased by inimical forces.
