120 Bahadur is based on the true events of the Battle f Rezang La. Many might not be aware of it and that gives the film an advantage. Moreover, in times when major chunks of the film are shot in studios, the makers have gone all out and shot the film in real locations. One more aspect where they go against the trend is that they have ensured the film is not too violent or gory. On the flipside, the first half is very ordinary. It gives a déjà vu of films like Border, Kesari and Shershaah. The songs are poor; a film like this should have had hit music or at least one memorable track. Farhan Akhtar gets his act right and it was a pleasure to see him acting after ages. Raashii Khanna (Sugan) is lovely in a special appearance, but sadly, her track only lengthened the film. Ajinkya Ramesh Deo (Brigadier) and Eijaz Khan (Commanding Officer) are fine. From the ‘bahadurs’, debutant Sparsh Walia (Radio Operator Ramchander Yadav) gets the maximum screen time and he delivers a very fine performance. Vivan Bhatena (Jemadar Surja Ram) is the next best, followed by Ashutosh Shukla (Dharampal) and Brijesh Karanwala (Jairam Kaka). Others who do well are Dhanveer Singh (Jemadar Hariram Singh), Digvijay Pratap (Jemadar Saab), Sahib Verma (Nanha), Devendra Ahirwar (Baingan), Ankit Siwach (Ramlal), and Atul Singh (Nihal Singh). All in all, 120 Bahadur is a one-time watch.
My rating – *** out of 5!