120 Bahadur Review: A Bland, Predictable War Drama That Lacks Emotion, Depth, And Conviction Throughout
War films tend to toil in the space between deep emotional content and large scale narrative, and 120 Bahadur does a poor job of that as it attempts to position itself as a patriotic epic but lacks the heart and weight to fulfill that. A day before its release, Farhan Akhtar compared the film to his iconic war film Lakshya as a spiritual successor. That comparison seems extraordinarily over the top. Where Lakshya was a pseudo-personal journey masquerading as a war film, 120 Bahadur sets itself up to be the kind of nationalistic mold that Lakshya was deliberately avoiding, predictable, mechanical, and emotionally empty.
Storyline
The film takes place during the 1962 India–China border crisis and tells the true story of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati and the 120 soldiers of Charlie Company who heroically defended Rezang La. The story begins with black-and-white newsreel footage of Nehru and the political atmosphere of the time, and the tired cliché of an injured soldier recapping the lost conflict. It then follows Major Shaitan Singh (Farhan Akhtar) as he leads his men into combat against bad odds in a series of increasingly dull combat scenes.
Positive Aspects
The film's goal—to pay tribute to Rezang La's courage—is genuine. The action highlighted in the trailer suggested scale. There are also moments of silence when Farhan Akhtar's performance will be able to communicate the idea of internal conflict, etc. The film is not aggressive and divisive nationalist; it pays tribute to soldiers rather than dismissing the enemy. The meaning of sacrifice and patriotism comes from a sincere direction, even if the filmmaking needs work.
Negative Aspects
That said, sincerity does not save 120 Bahadur from its many woes. The writing portrays soldiers as cardboard cutouts that only exist to say clichés. Their brotherhood feels staged, their actions uninspired, and their deaths are obvious. Farhan Akhtar's character is introduced with over-the-top hero worship; however, there are moments when a sense of authority would take the acting up a notch. The Chinese antagonists feel shallow, and emotional moments are so poorly constructed and indicated that it feels cheap. 120 Bahadur relies on tired clichés (sacrificial tropes, last words to the camera, bonfire songs), which is reminiscent of outdated and reheated fare. The action choreography feels genuine in its energy, though the war scenes do not create emotional drive because the characters never felt real.
Conclusion: Overall, 120 Bahadur wants to be an impactful war tribute. However, its general writing, forced emotion, and lack of commitment makes it tiresome.
