'Ikkis' is a war film on a peace mission

Sriram Raghavan's film about an eager young soldier in the 1971 war argues for shared values and humanity

- Uday Bhatia

Agastya Nanda in 'Ikkis'.

Madan Lal Khetarpal is in Lahore. He is attending a college reunion and seeing the house where he grew up, but really, he’s building up courage to visit the place where his son Arun, second lieutenant in the Indian Army, breathed his last in the 1971 war.

This turned out to be Dharmendra’s final role, and he is a little too old to offer an incisive performance. Yet, what we get is even better, something pure and unfiltered, an old man using his last fruitful moments to speak of love and understanding. I was incredibly moved, perhaps because my grandfather is also a Madan Lal who studied in Lahore and, like Dharmendra, has been a witness to both undivided Punjab and the entire sweep of independent India.

A month after Dhurandhar, another Hindi film spends most of its time in Pakistan. They couldn't be more different, though. Dhurandhar wants to start new wars. Ikkis wants to prevent future ones. Dhurandhar wants to win at all costs. Ikkis knows this is no victory at all. Aditya Dhar can barely see Pakistanis as human. Sriram Raghavan asks: What enemy?