120 Bahadur: Patriotism is a passion deeply ingrained in every Indian. Countless films have been made on this emotion, and they’ve been successful. There are so many stories of our brave soldiers that we don’t know, and yet we should know. This is one such story, but after watching this film, I felt that a better film should have been made about these 120 Bahadur soldiers. Neither Farhan Akhtar could do justice to Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, nor did this film do justice to those 120 Bahadur soldiers.
Story
In 1962, during the war between India and China, 120 Bahadur soldiers of ours fought against 3,000 Chinese soldiers at Rezang La. The course of the entire war changed. If you want to know this story, you can go to the theater.
How is the film?
The first half of the film is quite poor; you don’t connect with it. The war scenes in the second half are good, but even there, they lack the connection that a film of this kind should. The best thing about this film is its story, but the treatment is quite average. The songs are quite bad, and it feels like an attempt to copy Border, which makes it even worse. Farhan doesn’t suit the role, but the supporting cast manages to do the job. Their characters aren’t given time to establish themselves. There isn’t a single dialogue that gives you goosebumps. There are only a few scenes that feel good; you can watch this film out of respect for these brave soldiers.
Acting
Farhan should have simply produced this film. This role didn’t suit him. He’s a good actor, but you can’t play every role. You can’t connect with Farhan; he doesn’t have that Jodhpur soldier vibe. If anyone has acted well in this film, it’s the supporting cast. Sparsh Walia plays a radio operator and his work is tremendous. He also narrates the film. Ankit Siwach plays the first soldier to be martyred, and this is where you start to connect with the film a little. Her strong personality brings life to this character. Rashi Khanna plays the role of a soldier’s wife brilliantly. Vivan Batena is good.
Writing and Direction
This is the film’s weakest point. Rajiv Menon’s writing and Sumit Arora’s dialogues are completely lacking. You won’t remember a single line. Rajneesh Ghai’s direction is also average. He only shoots the war scenes well.
