The Battle At The Heart Of The Film

On November 18, 1962, 120 soldiers of Charlie Company, 13 Kumaon Regiment, held a position at Rezang La, in Ladakh, at a height of more than 16,000 feet. They faced a far larger Chinese force during the Sino-Indian War, and 114 of them died in the fighting. That is the story 120 Bahadur sets out to tell, and it is one of the most honoured last stands in Indian military history. Farhan Akhtar plays Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, the commanding officer who led the company and who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra after his death. The film,   directed by Razneesh Ghai, known as Razy, was produced by Excel Entertainment and Trigger Happy Studios. It reached cinemas on November 21, 2025, with paid previews on November 18, the 63rd anniversary of the battle itself.
You need to understand the scale to understand why this film was made. Rezang La was not a large battle in terms of men on the Indian side, but it became a symbol of holding ground against overwhelming odds. The soldiers were mostly Ahirs from Haryana and Rajasthan, and their stand has been taught, retold, and honoured for decades. A film about Rezang La therefore carries a burden that a fictional war film does not. Viewers who know the history will check the details. Families of soldiers will watch for respect, not just action. Farhan Akhtar has spoken, in interviews around the release, about the need to give an accurate depiction of real heroes on screen. That is the right instinct, and it is also the hardest promise to keep when you must compress a day of fighting into two hours of cinema.

Farhan Akhtar Steps Into Uniform Again

For Farhan Akhtar, 120 Bahadur completed a circle that started with Lakshya in 2004, the coming of age war drama he directed. This time he is in front of the camera, not behind it, playing a real officer whose name is on memorials. Raashii Khanna plays Shagun Kanwar, Shaitan Singh's wife, in a role that gives the film its home front. Sparsh Walia, Vivan Bhatena, and Dhanveer Singh appear in supporting roles. The trailer, released on November 6, 2025, was launched by Yash, a striking choice that linked two different film industries around a shared story of soldiers. The film premiered at the International Film Festival of India in Goa on November 21, 2025, the same day it opened in cinemas. That festival slot gave it prestige, but it also put it in front of critics who would judge it on history as much as on cinema.
Farhan's performance was widely noted as sincere, even by critics who were mixed on the film as a whole. He plays Shaitan Singh as a calm, firm leader, not as a shouting hero. That restraint suits the material. The men at Rezang La were not fighting for a speech. They were fighting for a position, for each other, and for orders they believed in. A film that turns that into noise would betray the story. A film that keeps it quiet risks feeling slow to viewers used to faster war films. 120 Bahadur sits in that tension, and reviews reflected it. NewsBytes gave it 2.5 out of 5, calling it sincere but mediocre as drama, while other coverage praised its intent and its respect for the soldiers.

Reception, Box Office, And The Defence Release

At the box office, 120 Bahadur disappointed, despite positive notices for its subject. Later reporting put its earnings at only about Rs 24 crore, a modest total for a film of this scale. That result is worth thinking about, because it sits next to the success of other war films in the same period. A serious, historical war drama can struggle when it opens against bigger entertainment, or when its trailer promises a different kind of film than the one in cinemas. The film also made exhibition history in one way that deserves a note. Reports said it was set to release across India's defence theatre network, bringing the story directly to service audiences. That is a fitting audience for Rezang La, and it shows the makers knew who this film was really for.
The film's second life came on streaming. Prime Video announced its global streaming premiere, and the film became available on January 16, 2026, in India and in more than 200 countries and territories. That window matters for a film like this. It lets schools, families, and service personnel watch it without depending on a short theatrical run. It also lets the film be judged over time, not just on its opening weekend. A war film about 1962 does not need to win its first weekend to matter. It needs to be watched, discussed, and remembered, and streaming gives it that longer chance.

Why Rezang La Still Matters

If you watch 120 Bahadur now, watch it as history first and cinema second. The names, the regiment, the date, and the height are real. The loss, 114 out of 120, is real. The Param Vir Chakra for Major Shaitan Singh is real. The film's job is to make those facts feel human, not just heroic. It does that best when it stays close to the men on the ridge, their cold, their orders, and their choice to stay. It does it less well when it reaches for familiar war film beats. That unevenness is why reviews were mixed, and why the film's reputation may settle differently over time. A sincere film about a real last stand can grow in respect even if it did not grow at the box office.

Sources and reporting

  1. Bollywood Hungama — 2025-08-05 · Verifies Farhan as Major Shaitan Singh, Charlie Company, and Battle of Rezang La
  2. Moneycontrol — 2026-01-16 · Verifies November 21 2025 theatrical release and January 16 2026 Prime Video premiere
  3. NewsBytes — 2025-11-21 · Verifies Rezang La facts, 114 deaths, altitude, and 2.5 star review