India, Jan. 9 -- Once in a while, a film shows up in cinemas with the perfect sense of timing. The first Hindi release of the year, director and writer Sriram Raghavan's soulful war movie Ikkis (2026), is one of those charmed titles.

Coming on the heels of Dhurandhar and three weeks before Border 2, Ikkis is a reminder that there can be more to the Bollywood blockbuster than blunt-force storytelling, and that there can be more to on-screen heroism than gratuitous bloodshed and bitterness.

This year is set to be full of war tales. Upcoming releases include Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love and War, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal; and Battle of Galwan, starring Salman Khan and based on the 2020 battle with China over Galw...