Ikkis Movie Review
इक्कीस
1 Jan 2026
Ikkis movie review: what critics say (13)
What critics say Critics are mostly positive with reservations: 12 of 13 rated critics gave it 3.5 or more. Praised: the direction and the script.
Ikkis is a war film which makes you feel in a way that movies these days are not either able to or want to.
Read the full reviewI could watch Ikkis twice. The one thing you observe in Ikkis, decidedly a war film; makes no mistake, is the immersive, claustrophobic insides of a bloody battle-tank as the Indian Army advances across the border
Read the full reviewIkkis rises above expectations as we see the templated material of a war hero biopic tell an important film of our times.
Read the full reviewOverall, Ikkis works best when it stops trying to be a war film and becomes a painful reminder. It tells you something unbearable: that our freedoms were bought by people who never got to live theirs.
Read the full reviewThrough the real-life 1971 story based around the Indo-Pak war, Ikkis, starring Dharmendra and Agastya Nanda in pivotal roles, shows the poignant aftermath of a father’s love for his valiant son.
Read the full reviewIn Ikkis, director Sriram Raghavan gives Dharmendra exactly that kind of send-off, quiet, dignified, and devastating in its emotional aftermath. All war films, when honest, are essentially anti-war films.
Read the full reviewIkkis audience rating and reviews
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What we know
Second Lieutenant and India's youngest Param Vir Chakra recipient, Arun Khetarpal, gave his life fighting for his battalion and the country during the 1971 Battle of Basantar. Ikkis also takes a reflective look at the futility of war through the eyes of Khetarpal's father, who visits his ancestral home in Sargodha and Alma Mater for reunion, which now happens to be in post-partition Pakistan, 30 years later.
Trailer
Cast and crew
DharmendraBrig. Madan Lal Khetarpal
Jaideep AhlawatBrig. Jaan Mohammad Khan
Agastya Nanda2nd Lt Arun Khetarpal
Simar BhatiaKiran Kochar
Shree BishnoiSWR Parag Singh
Suhasini MulayMrs. Maheshwari Khetarpal
Rahul DevLt Col Hanut Singh
Sikandar KherRIS Sagat Singh
Ekavali KhannaMaryam Nisar
Vivaan ShahCapt. Vijender MalhotraAAvani RaiSaba
Saurabh DubeyPakistani General Where to watch in India
Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB. Help me pick something else
Box office
Day-wise India net starts on 1 Jan 2026. Advance booking and every day's figure are on the box office page.
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Questions
Is Ikkis worth watching?
Critics rate it very good: 3.7 out of 5, with 13 of 13 critics recommending it.
When did Ikkis release?
1 Jan 2026.
Who is in the cast of Ikkis?
Dharmendra, Jaideep Ahlawat, Agastya Nanda, Simar Bhatia, Shree Bishnoi, Suhasini Mulay, Rahul Dev, Sikandar Kher.
Who directs Ikkis?
Sriram Raghavan.
What do critics say about Ikkis?
13 critic reviews are on this page, with a Critic Score of 3.7 out of 5. Each one shows the critic, a short excerpt and a link to the full review.