Akshay Kumar-starrer Kesari, based on the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, began production on Friday. The Dharma Productions film has booked a Holi 2019 release.
Directed by Anurag Singh, the movie is based on the encounter between 21 Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army and a 10,000-strong troop of Afghani tribesmen in the Saragarhi outpost of the North-West Frontier Province on September 12 that year. Though vastly outnumbered, the regiment is said to have fought to its death in what is hailed as one of history’s greatest last stands.
The first look shows a turban-clad Kumar as Havildar Ishar Singh, who led the Sikh regiment.
Feeling nothing but immense pride and gratitude while sharing this. Beginning my 2018 with #KESARI, my most ambitious film and a lot of passion. Need your best wishes as always 🙏🏻 @dharmamovies@iAmAzure @SinghAnurag79 pic.twitter.com/NOQ5x7FKRK
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) January 5, 2018
The battle has also inspired two other movies – Rajkumar Santoshi’s Battle of Saragarhi starring Randeep Hooda and Ajay Devgn’s Sons of Sardars 2 – as well as a television serial.
Kumar will next be seen in R Balki’s January 25 release Pad Man, based on the journey of low-cost sanitary napkin manufacturer Arunachalam Muruganantham.