‘Ikkis’, directed by Sriram Raghavan, has hit the theatres today, and the movie is special in more than one way. First, the movie is based on the life story of the Youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, and secondly, the last film of Bollywood legend Dharmendra, who passed away in November 2025.
Ikkis is Raghavan’s second project after Merry Christmas, and stars Agastya Nanda in the lead role. Varun Dhawan was earlier expected to play the role of the young Khetarpal when the movie was announced in 2019. But significant delays due to COVID led to the change in Casting. This is the second project of Agastya Nanda after Archie’s in 2023.
The movie is based on the premise of the Battle of Basantar in 1971, during the Indo-Pak War. It explores the life of the newly commissioned tank commander who is at the heart of the Battle that played a huge role in India’s military history. Khetarpal, who is the main character of the movie, was born on 14 October 1950 in Pune, in a family with a military tradition.
His father, played by Dharmendra, was an Army Brigadier, while his grandfather had played a role in the army during the national movement, and also fought in World War 1. Khetarpal’s early education was from St Columba’s School in Delhi and The Lawrence School in Sanawar, after which he joined the National Defence Academy in 1967. After completing his training at the NDA, he joined the Indian Military Academy.
After joining the Poona Horse Regiment 17 officially on June 13, 1971, he had served for only six months in the Army when the Indo-Pak war broke out. At the moment when the war started, he was attending his training course but was called to join the unit in the Shakargarh sector.
He continued to perform his duty, even when the odds were against him. In his last moments, he destroyed the enemy’s tank and was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously. His tank, Famagusta, is not preserved in the Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar.
