New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- It's rare to see Hindi cinema offer up this neat a contrast. Three weeks ago, Sriram Raghavan's Ikkis, a film on the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, released in theatres. This weekend, Anurag Singh's Border 2, also set during the 1971 War, opens in time for Republic Day. Ikkis is an interrogation of the modern Hindi war film, cheerfully swatting away stereotypes. Border 2, on the other hand, throws itself frequently on the live grenade of cliche, a martyr's death for original thinking every scene.

This might be a bit harsh on Border 2, which is emotionally wrought, occasionally exciting, and less virulent than the average Hindi war film. But Singh and co-writer Sumit Arora seem hemmed in by the legacy of J.P. Dutta's film, ...