India, Nov. 30 -- They were just a few as compared to the Chinese army and it was this bravado which led well known poet Kavi Pradip to write the song which was to become the anthem 'Ai mere watan ke logo, Zara ankh mein bhar lo pani, Jo shahid huye hain unki, Zara yaad karo kurbani', to the disheartened Indians, sung by Lata Mangeshkar at the Republic Day Parade that followed the debacle of 1962. The bravery of the company commander was marked by the fact that, in spite of being outnumbered by the Chinese, moved from post to post managing defence at the risk of his own life and fell a martyr along with them. Col DS Cheema, based in the tricity, who has been organising functions year after year in the memory of the martyrs, says: The Major's courage was exemplary as when his soldiers tried to evacuate him from heavy firing, the Major ordered them to move on and save their lives. The body of the brave leader was found frozen in the same spot, behind a boulder, three months later still clutching his weapon. His mortal remains remained in the snow to be consigned to a collective cremation. Such were the heartrending memories of this battle which left the country broken and experimental filmmaker Chetan Anand took upon himself to make a cathartic film to heal the wounds of a defeated and broken nation by highlighting the sacrifice of the soldiers. It may be remembered that his film 'Neecha Nagar' had created history by winning the Grand Prix Prize (now Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 and later founded Navketan Films with his younger star brother Dev Anand. 'Haqeeqat' was the name of the film to be made on the debacle at the hands of China. The 1964 film authored by the director with a grand caste including veterans like Jayant, Balraj Sahni, Vijay Anand and of course Dharmendra, in one of his early noticeable roles as a bahadur captain, who for the sake of playing to the masses was paired with the director's dream-girl, Priya Rajvansh in a romantic tie. Interestingly, Dharmendra, who had started as a romantic hero in 1960 showed maturity along with his great screen charm as the debonair star in one of the first war films of Indian cinema although the hurt army men felt it did not do justice to the plight of the soldiers. But in all fairness it offered catharsis to a humbled country and its people. Moving on to talk about the legend of Dharmendra or Dharam-Garam as well as Naram-Dharam as he was often called by friends and foes, some of the most interesting and fond tributes have been by the famed poet and screenplay writer, Javed Akhtar, of course. The two had a long association from the days of "Seeta aur Geeta" to great heights as Veeru of Sholay. "It is often a cliche to say that an era has come to an end with so and so. But with the passing away of Dharmendra, an era has actually come to an end for he was one of his own kind. A star always but totally down to earth or 'desi' as one would call him. He was an era in himself. He shone on the screen with dignity and simplicity in spite of his very colourful personality." He added that his range as an actor was remarkable in flamboyant roles but at the same time extremely sensitive and as a poet in 'Anupama' or a jail doctor in 'Bandini'. In Punjab, Dharamendra enjoyed a special space as a son of the soil making his way in Bollywood with his looks, passion and hard work like never before. Before winning a talent contest and making it to Mumbai-meri-jaan, he worked for sometime in a government job in Malerkotla as a tubewell operator, who after work would be seen in colourful shirts playing badminton. One recalls just a single meeting with him in the city's Mountview Hotel after the long years of terrorism a function was organised by the then CM Beant Singh to honour Punjabis in cinema in the Mohali cricket stadium. The press conference preceding the gala night at Mountview, Dharmendra arrived handsome as ever and also tipsy as ever cutting all conversation with the remark, "Ai ki gallan kar rahe ho, Aini der baad mile ho, kujh prem pyar di gal karo." (What on earth are you talking about? You have met after so long, talk of love and warmth). This was addressed to one and all, also over and again. But no one took it amiss for such was our Punjabi Bhaji's charm. He confessed in one of his rambling reels that while passing a bridge I stop by to inform that friend after all your Dharmendra has become a star. Well he should know better, for it wasn't easy but it did happen". And now bidding goodbye to this one of his kind actor, one waits to see the film which he has left as a memento for his fans. It is called 'Ikkis' and it releases on December 25 and a poem by the star translated from Punjabi into Hindi is part of the film. Well, what did you think, Bhaji was a poet in his own right! So it is back to 120 Bahadur and the battle of Rezang La which in other words was do-or-die for the brave Indian soldiers and they did it. Theatrically released on November 21, 2025, it was featured in the Gala Premier at 56 IFFI and the film has been declared tax-free in Delhi and Rajasthan.The first reviews are heartening and one waits to see how the return of Farhan Akhtar to the film screen after long. But the sincerity of handling this poignant theme is being appreciated and happy that the controversy is put to rest. For as Kavi pradip had said in his ode to the war of 1962: 'Sarhad par marne wala, har ek tha bharat Wasi' (Everyone who died on the borders was an Indian)....