India, Jan. 1 -- I exited the theatre after watching Ikkis with a heavy lump in my throat. Was it the bittersweet realisation that we were witnessing the final bow of the legendary Dharmendra? Certainly. Was it the film itself? To some extent. But above all, it was the weight of the truth.

It slowly dawns on you that the protagonist on screen, 21-year-old PVC Arun Khetarpal, isn't merely a character, but a testament to a kind of bravery that feels almost mythical today. It's purely the story that makes this film, directed by Sriram Raghavan, work. (Fun fact: he was offered two scripts by producer Dinesh Vijan. The other was Badlapur 2. Sriram chose this.)

Ikkis begins with a 1971 flashback. Arun (Agastya Nanda), a tank commander, is hea...