Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan lauded his grandson, actor Agastya Nanda, for his performance in Ikkis, saying that his performance was nothing short of ‘perfection in every shot’.

Bachchan, who attended a special screening of the film on Monday in Mumbai, penned a blog on Tumblr, appreciating Agastya’s ‘maturity and unfiltered honesty in his performance’.

In Ikkis, Agastya plays the role of Arun Khetarpal, a young soldier who was killed in action in the Battle of Basantar during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

For his courage and sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, making him the youngest recipient of India’s highest military honour at the time.

“Tonight to see him in frame, unable to take my eyes off each time he fills the frames of the film .. his maturity, his unfiltered honesty in his performance, his presence justifying the character he portrays .. nothing frith or froth, just the Arun Khetarpal soldier, who fought in his bravery as the 21-year-old, defending the nation during the India-Pak war of 1971 .. nothing excessive, just the perfection in every shot,” Bachchan wrote on his blog.

He added, “When he is in the frame, you only watch him .. and this is not a grandfather speaking, this is a hardened viewer of cinema .. And the film is flawless in its presentation, its writing, and its direction. And when it ends, the eyes filled with tears of joy and pride, unable to speak out.”

Ikkis marks the second acting project for Agastya, after Netflix’s 2023 teen musical comedy The Archies, directed by Zoya Akhtar. It is also the last big screen outing for Dharmendra, who passed away last month.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan, the cast of the Ikkis also includes Jaideep Ahlawat, Sikandar Kher and Akshay Kumar’s niece Simar Bhatia.

Earlier scheduled to release on 25 December, the film is now set to hit theatres on 1 January.