Kesari is inspired by the incredible story of the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897, where 21 soldiers from the Sikh regiment of the British Army battled against 10,000 invaders of Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen from Afghanistan. Kesari showcases the comradeship of bravery and courage.

Akshay Kumar plays the leading protagonist as military commander Havildar Ishar Singh. This has to be one of Akshay’s best performances to date in an action role. Parneeti Chopra plays Akshay’s wife as Jeevani Kaur with Mir Sarwar, Vansh Bhardwaj, Jaspreet Singh, Vivek Saini and Vikram Kochhar in supporting roles. All supporting roles were all played with excellent conviction, there was a great balance of characters. I really wished Parneeti Chopra had a more prominent role though, she had very few appearances in the film, but interestingly they depicted her as an imaginary character and in flashback memories. As Akshay was away from home, he would imagine about her time to time, so audiences would think she was there in reality with him in those particular scenes.

The dialogue delivered punches and I loved the light humour throughout the film even at some of the most serious scenes. The visual effects felt believable and the location was scenic. I felt the soundtrack did not play much importance in Kesari. The film would have possibly been the same even without it. The action sequences were incredible and will leave you stunned.

In regards to the film’s flow, the first half was a tad slow and predictable, but the second half came in strong. It was quite intense and not for the faint-hearted. The second half left me speechless with shocking action scenes. The film is tragic and it is a testament and tribute to those who had the courage to keep going until the end. It is great that the Kesari team came together to bring light to this chapter in history which audiences may not be aware of. Definitely worth a watch! A film revolved around such a powerful story was executed well and oustanding!

Kerasi is directed by Anurag Singh. Produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Sunir Kheterpal and Co-Produced by Amar Butala. Written by Girish Kohli and Anurag Singh. Kesari is in selected UK cinemas now.

London Ki Ladki Rating: ☆☆☆.5 / 5