A shot at glory: Sriram Raghavan on ‘Ikkis’ and his love for Dharmendra

Known for reinventing the thriller genre with his signature blend of suspense, acheronian humour, and unpredictable twists, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan has ever pushed boundaries. He draws inspiration from classical noir to trade narratives that support audiences connected the borderline of their seats. However, this week, Sriram steps into bold caller territory with the highly anticipated Ikkis, a almighty warfare play astir the heroics of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, who made the ultimate sacrifice astatine 21 during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

Starring Agastya Nanda arsenic the young warrior and featuring Dharmendra successful his last relation arsenic his father, Sriram brings his crisp directorial imaginativeness to a communicative of courageousness and sacrifice. Producer Dinesh Vijan (’Dino’ to his adjacent circle), who backed Sriram’s Agent Vinod and Badlapur, says helium had ne'er seen the grey-haired, 62-year-old filmmaker arsenic excited arsenic helium was connected the sets of Ikkis. Sriram wants to auction the shoes helium wore during the sprout to archer the satellite the region helium covered to archer a communicative helium perfectly loved. “The full sprout was similar an adventure. The happening astir escapade is that erstwhile it is over, we consciousness precise happy, but portion it’s going on, we conscionable effort to ascent without falling. It took america clip to standard the peak, but looking back, it was large fun.” Game for a sports play now, Sriram talks of the genre displacement and uncovering bid successful war.

Edited excerpts:

From noir to nationalist drama, however did this displacement happen?

It happened by sheer chance. I was successful Dino’s bureau to sermon the publication for Badlapur 2, which I was not blessed with. There was excessively overmuch serial killing, and it didn’t link with me. I was sitting determination wondering what to bash erstwhile I heard Binny Padda (known for designing movie promos) telling Dino the communicative of Arun Khetarpal. I recovered it fascinating and asked, ‘Who’s doing this?’ And they said, ‘Nobody’s attached. Do you privation to bash it?’ I thought for 5 minutes (laughs), asking myself the aforesaid happening that you’re asking me. Is it up my alley? I emotion each kinds of movies; it’s conscionable that I person nary acquisition with extended action, VFX, oregon shooting tanks. I didn’t cognize however I was going to bash it, but someway I said that I’m interested.

As a storyteller, what pulled you to the sacrifice of Arun Khetarpal and his father’s journey?

It’s acceptable successful 2 timelines. One is 1971, erstwhile the conflict was fought, and the different is 2001, erstwhile Arun’s 80-year-old father, who besides served the Indian service during the British period, goes backmost successful clip to Pakistan arsenic portion of the taste speech that the past PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee started, to resoluteness the struggle aft the Kargil War. During this twin-track diplomacy phase, getting the visas became easier. When the elder Khetarpal, calved successful undivided India, received an invitation from his assemblage successful Sargodha, helium returned to spot if his location inactive existed. In that journey, helium meets a definite Pakistani service idiosyncratic who gives him an penetration into his son’s courageousness and what happened connected the battlefront connected December 16, hardly 2 months aft helium turned 21. Arun didn’t adjacent implicit his grooming arsenic a young officer. After 1 period of rigorous training, helium was considered bully capable to beryllium successful the heavy of action. So his communicative and his father’s communicative link and marque a batch of cinematic consciousness to me. I mean, this is simply a moving quality story. It tin beryllium acceptable successful immoderate struggle zone, betwixt immoderate 2 countries.

Tell america astir the probe part...

I met Mukesh Khetarpal, Arun’s younger brother, and done him, I got a full database of names, peculiarly 2 of Arun’s vessel unit members, Nathu Singh and Prayag Singh, who survived the December 16, 1971, conflict (of Basantar). We spent 2 days with them. They would travel successful their afloat uniform. Brimming with pride, they told america astir Arun and the times. Then I got to conscionable a fig of his NDA batchmates, and a jigsaw was formed. I didn’t privation it to beryllium an Amar Chitra Katha benignant of story. I don’t adjacent similar the connection biopic. It’s not similar I’m covering his full life, though it was a abbreviated beingness anyway. Arun continues to beryllium a large inspiration for young soldiers. In cantonments, you volition find his busts, portraits, and grounds named aft him.

It feels unusual that his communicative has not been told connected the large surface truthful far..

Many years ago, JP Datta tried to marque a movie astir him, but it did not materialise, possibly owed to budgetary constraints and due to the fact that the tanks utilized successful the conflict nary longer exist. It took america astir 8 months to replicate the Centurion and Patton tanks utilized by the Indian and Pakistani armies, respectively, during the 1971 war. These were of World War II vintage with their pros and cons. No longer successful use, you tin lone find the Centurion vessel lasting similar a awesome of triumph successful the lawns of a cantonment. We needed functional models. I didn’t privation a azygous framework wherever the assemblage could archer we utilized VFX. Special effects enactment good successful phantasy films, but not successful a realistic portrayal of a warfare etched successful nationalist memory. I didn’t privation to usage different vessel and enactment a disclaimer. Making models besides took clip due to the fact that the actors’ information during shooting with the monsters was a concern.

The task started with Varun Dhawan playing the pb role. How did Agastya locomotion in?

Varun and I had conscionable completed our palmy collaboration in Badlapur, and helium was keen connected the idea. By the clip we finished our preliminary scripting, the COVID-19 pandemic had happened, and we had to alteration our plans. As I developed the script, I gradually realised that property is integral to the story. In definite scenes, Arun is shown arsenic 19. The property erstwhile Jeetendra could creation astir trees successful his 40s is over. The publication demanded a caller face, and Agastya was 21 erstwhile helium was cast.

The trailer shows that determination is much to his casting than his property alone...

We needed an histrion who was consenting to perpetrate 2 to 3 years to the project. Simply put, it’s the communicative of a lad becoming a man. Young property apart, what Arun did heroically, for which helium received the Param Veer Chakra, is thing that happened successful the past 2 hours of his life. Till those past 2 hours, helium didn’t cognize helium was a hero. I wanted Agastya to bring that impulse to service and the innocence astir the outcome. I conjecture Agastya’s eyes bespeak it.

He comes from an illustrious family, but for me, Agastya was conscionable a lad who had to turn into his character. He spent 4 months training. First, helium attended footwear campy to unrecorded the beingness of a soldier, and then, astatine the Poona Horse regiment, helium gained a consciousness of what it was similar to run tanks.

How did Dharmendra travel into the picture?

Ever since we worked unneurotic in Johnny Gaddar, we person been successful touch. At times, helium would telephone maine to suggest a communicative I should instrumentality up. Like helium would say, Tuesdays with Morrie is a bully idea, oregon tin I bash thing like The Bridges of Madison County? I promised to find a communicative for him. When we recovered one, Dino and I had a agelong treatment astir whether to formed idiosyncratic successful his 80s for the role. In the past, we person seen Sanjeev Kumar and Anupam Kher playing characters overmuch older than their age. I felt we can’t bash it anymore. With Dharamji, determination was nary acting. I mean, his walk, his gait, everything is portion of the character. He connected profoundly with the story. The symptom of leaving his location successful Punjab had settled successful his assemblage implicit the years. The thought of revisiting location became a precise idiosyncratic acquisition — helium was wholly into the character. He had a keen consciousness of dialog and valued the system of words. I gave him the dialogues, but ever asked him however helium would similar to present them. He would connection his ain improvisation, and I person utilized galore of his lines. We would often sermon his poetry. I wanted him to get his poems published, but helium was successful nary hurry. I requested him to recite 1 of his compositions for the film, and it was lovely.

Then you person Jaideep Ahlawat arsenic the Pakistani officer...

We needed not conscionable a bully histrion but idiosyncratic who could make chemistry, a definite dynamic, with Dharamji, and Jaideep understood it. When I work the story, helium instantly connected because, arsenic I aboriginal discovered, helium wanted to articulation the forces but was rejected twice. Like Dharamji, helium besides connected with the communicative astatine a idiosyncratic level.

The movie is coming astatine a clip erstwhile jingoistic patriotism is gaining currency astatine the container office. Are you concerned?

Not really. When I began successful 2019, each I had was the story. Now, successful six years, truthful galore things person changed. There’ll beryllium bully times, there’ll beryllium not-so-good times. Of course, I’m conscious of the kinds of movies being made, but determination is nary incorrect clip to archer a bully story. We besides request these kinds of stories. It is simply a reminder that a soldier’s household is braver than the soldier. Recently, we conducted a screening for service unit and received a bully response. The Chief of Army Staff said it was bully that it wasn’t jingoistic. He besides liked however our soldiers’ behaviour towards force soldiers is portrayed successful enactment with protocol.

Did you ticker ‘Dhurandhar’? There is simply a conception that feels that the movie is simply a antagonistic to your and Sridhar Raghavan’s simplistic portrayal of the espionage abstraction in Agent Vinod and Pathaan, wherever some India and Pakistan are shown arsenic victims of terrorism.

It is simply a well-made movie with terrific performances, but it is not our benignant of film. We indispensable recognize that we are surviving successful antithetic times. The earlier James Bond films starring Sean Connery and Roger Moore were amusive movies. Later on, Bond films started to get serious. Dhurandhar is 1 movie. It is doing spectacularly well, and it should. But this is not the lone format. If I commencement pursuing it, it volition beryllium the silliest happening to do. Aditya (Dhar) and I shared the National Award signifier erstwhile helium made Uri, and I had Andhadhun. He has a antithetic benignant of sensibility and craft, and I emotion watching his films, but it is not thing I would make.

Ikkis releases successful theatres connected January 1, 2026