Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar said he hopes his new war drama 120 Bahadur is granted tax-free status so that more viewers can watch what he described as an “important” story on the big screen.
The film, set during the 1962 India-China war, released in theatres on 21 November and was screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Friday.
“I do believe that this is a film for every Indian and that every Indian should watch this film to remember the heroes of our past because we tend to forget what happened before us,” Akhtar told PTI on the IFFI red carpet.
Akhtar plays Param Veer Chakra Major Shaitan Singh in the film, which chronicles the regiment’s stand during the Battle of Rezang La, where 120 Indian soldiers held their position against 3,000 Chinese troops.
“The Battle of Rezang La is not a story that is widely known, so, to learn about Shaitan Singh ji, to learn about the 120 men a hero fought beside him, I really feel that making it tax-free will definitely benefit the story going out far and wide. It would be wonderful if that (tax-free) did happen,” he said.
Directed by Razneesh Ghai, the film is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Akhtar under Excel Entertainment, along with Amit Chandrra of Trigger Happy Studios.
