![\"EXCLUSIVE:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Sriram-Raghavan-1-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe first film to be released in 2026 is Ikkis. It tells the story of Arun Khetarpal, who, at 21, became the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra for the bravery he showed during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. It is directed by Sriram Raghavan, who has switched genres like never before. But the trailer has clicked and it promises a patriotic and emotional saga.<\/p>\n
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EXCLUSIVE: Sriram Raghavan reveals how Arun Khetrapal\u2019s brother reacted after watching Ikkis: \u201cHe had long chat with Agastya Nanda; told us, \u2018Now, I imagine what Arun must have gone through\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Sriram Raghavan spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama and revealed that he had desired to make Ikkis for more than 7 years. He said, \u201cI have been involved with the film even before Andhadhun (2018). I got first involved in 2018 when I heard the story for the first time. I loved it and it stayed with me. Hence, I told Dino (Dinesh Vijan) that I was interested in making it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sriram continued, \u201cThen, I met Arun Khetrapal\u2019s brother, Mukesh Khetrapal, who was based in Delhi. I also went to Arun\u2019s alma mater \u2013 The Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh. I also tried to meet as many colleagues and classmates of Arun, at that time, as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sriram Raghavan further said, \u201cMeanwhile, Andhadhun (2018) was released and I made one more film (Merry Christmas; 2024). COVID also happened, resulting in further delay. But this gave us even more time to do research. We spent 2 days with Arun\u2019s tank crew, that is, the ones who were with him in the tank when he died. They gave us so many fascinating details about his character and how tank wars were fought. It was unlike the other forms of battles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lastly, when asked if Arun Khetrapal\u2019s family has seen Ikkis, Sriram Raghavan replied, \u201cArun Khetarpal\u2019s brother saw the film. He was extremely moved. He had a long chat with Agastya Nanda (who plays Arun in the film). He told us, \u2018Now, I imagine what Arun must have gone through when he was there\u2019. He asked us, \u2018How did you capture my brother so well?\u2019. It was quite overwhelming for him watching the film.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ikkis also stars Jaideep Ahlawat, newcomer Simar Bhatia and the late Dharmendra. Produced by Dinesh Vijan\u2019s Maddock Films, it releases in cinemas on January 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Sriram Raghavan follows in the footsteps of Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino; shoots a chunk of Ikkis old-fashioned way: \u201cWhen you shoot on film, you imbibe the discipline of a shoot. It\u2019s akin to army discipline\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n More Pages: Ikkis Box Office Collection<\/a>Tags : Agastya Nanda<\/a>, Arun Khetarpal<\/a>, Christopher Nolan<\/a>, Dharmendra<\/a>, Dinesh Vijan<\/a>, Features<\/a>, Ikkis<\/a>, Jaideep Ahlawat<\/a>, Maddock Films<\/a>, Mukesh Khetrapal<\/a>, Param Vir Chakra<\/a>, Simar Bhatia<\/a>, Sriram Raghavan<\/a> Catch us for latest Bollywood News<\/a>, New Bollywood Movies<\/a> update, Box office collection<\/a>, New Movies Release <\/a>, Bollywood News Hindi<\/a>, Entertainment News<\/a>, Bollywood Live News Today<\/a> & Upcoming Movies 2025<\/a> and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first film to be released in 2026 is Ikkis. It tells the story of Arun Khetarpal, who,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[68453,68452,458,25444,3660,33646,146,2664,69427,85,46,78474,33649,118601,68454,69369,68456],"class_list":["post-213192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-agastya-nanda","tag-arun-khetarpal","tag-celebrities","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-dharmendra","tag-dinesh-vijan","tag-entertainment","tag-features","tag-ikkis","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-jaideep-ahlawat","tag-maddock-films","tag-mukesh-khetrapal","tag-param-vir-chakra","tag-simar-bhatia","tag-sriram-raghavan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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