Two Timelines, One Family Story


Ikkis is not a straight war film, and that choice is why it stood out. Director Sriram Raghavan tells the story across two timelines. In 1971, a young Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal leads his tank unit through mined ground in the Battle of Basantar, during the final days of the Indo-Pak war. In 2001, his father, retired Brigadier M. L. Khetarpal, travels to Pakistan for a reunion and meets the officer who faced his son on the battlefield. That second timeline gives the film its emotional spine. It asks what a father carries for thirty years, and what happens when grief meets the man on the other side. Agastya Nanda plays Arun, Dharmendra plays his father, and Jaideep Ahlawat plays Brigadier Khwaja Mohammad Nasir, the Pakistani officer who hosts the older Khetarpal.
The structure also lets Raghavan avoid the loudest war film habits. There is action in the tank sequences, but the film keeps coming back to quiet rooms, letters, memories, and a meeting that should be impossible. Critics who liked the film praised that restraint. They said it felt like a plea for peace in polarised times, not a chest thumping exercise. You can see why Raghavan, known for thrillers like Badlapur and Andhadhun, wanted this story. It lets him use suspense and misdirection, but in service of a human question, not a twist. For Agastya Nanda, it was a hard debut. He had to play a 21 year old officer who dies in war, and he had to do it opposite two senior actors who carry decades of screen weight.

Why Agastya Nanda Got The Role


The casting story is almost as talked about as the film. Varun Dhawan was the original choice for Arun Khetarpal, after his work with Raghavan on Badlapur. By the time the film was ready to roll, Raghavan said Varun was too old for a part that needed a teenager in some scenes. In interviews reported in late 2025, Raghavan said he could not cast Varun as a 21 year old soldier who dies in war, and that Agastya, then 21, brought the youth and innocence the role needed. That is a blunt reason, but it fits the film. Arun Khetarpal was India's youngest Param Vir Chakra recipient, and his youth is the point. Cast an older star and you lose the shock of how young he was. Cast a newcomer and you gain it, but you risk a debutant carrying a national hero's story.
Agastya came to Ikkis after The Archies in 2023, his screen debut as Archie Andrews on Netflix. That film was a musical ensemble, very different from a tank war. Ikkis asked him to hold still, speak less, and let the uniform and the  situation do the work. Reviews noted an earnest performance, even when they disagreed about the film as a whole. Simar Bhatia, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sikandar Kher, and Deepak Dobriyal round out the cast, and Maddock Films produced the film with Sachin-Jigar on music and Anil Mehta on camera. The film was first planned for December 25, 2025, then moved to January 1, 2026, a New Year release that gave it a clean, reflective slot.

Dharmendra's Final Role


For many viewers, Ikkis will always be Dharmendra's final film, and that fact changed how the film was received. The legendary actor died in November 2025, before the film reached cinemas. His role as Brigadier M. L. Khetarpal is restrained, a father who has lived with loss for decades and who still travels to meet the past face to face. Critics singled out that restraint. They said Dharmendra did not play grief loudly. He played it as weight, in pauses and in the way he listened. That performance gave the 2001 timeline its power. Without it, the meeting in Pakistan could have felt like a device. With it, the meeting feels like a man trying to close a circle he never chose.
The film also faced a small controversy over a production led disclaimer in its final titles, noted in later reporting about its streaming release. That detail did not dominate the conversation, but it is worth noting because war films based on real people always face questions about accuracy and credit. The core facts in the film are well documented. Arun Khetarpal died on December 16, 1971, and was awarded the Param Vir Chakra after his death for his actions at Basantar. Ikkis builds drama around those facts, but it does not invent a different ending. The ending is known, and the film knows you know it. That is why the 2001 scenes matter so much. They ask what happens after the known ending, for the people left behind.

Box Office, Streaming, And What It Leaves Behind


At the box office, Ikkis did not become a blockbuster. Later reporting put its estimated global earnings at about Rs 45.21 crore, a modest total for a film with this cast and this subject. Reviews were mostly positive, with praise for the performances and the humane approach, but the film did not turn that praise into a long theatrical run. That gap is now a familiar story for serious Hindi films. A thoughtful war drama can win critics and still struggle against bigger, louder releases, especially in a year crowded with action and franchise films. The film found a second life on streaming, landing on Amazon Prime Video in February 2026, first as a rental title and then free for subscribers. That streaming window matters, because it lets the film reach viewers at home, in classrooms, and in families who may not have caught it in cinemas.

Sources and reporting

  1. Moneycontrol — 2025-12-31 · Verifies Varun Dhawan replacement reason and January 1 2026 release plan
  2. NewsBytes — 2026-02-26 · Verifies OTT release, two timelines, and estimated global earnings
  3. WIO News — 2026-01-01 · Verifies Dharmendra final role, 1971 and 2001 structure, and review tone