Pippa 2023

Set against the harrowing backdrop of the 1971 Dhaka University massacre and Operation Searchlight, this sweeping war drama centers on a family pulled into a country-wide struggle for freedom and survival. Captain Balram Singh Mehta, Ishaan Khatter, is a young, capable officer in the 45th Cavalry regiment, known for his volcanic energy and a knack for finding trouble even as he innovates on the battlefield with the PT-76 tank, nicknamed “Pippa.” His elder brother Major Ram Mehta, Priyanshu Painyuli, is the steadier, more disciplined force in the family, tasked with a dangerous covert mission that stretches far beyond ordinary frontline duties. Their mother Maati, Soni Razdan, and their sister Radha Mehta, Mrunal Thakur, keep the home fires burning in Delhi as the war drums grow louder; Radha, brilliant with cryptography, is recruited into the Communications and Analysis Wing, a signals intelligence unit that decodes enemy messages and helps guide operations.

As war nerves tighten, Major Ram is ordered to slip into East Pakistan under a false identity to train and advise the Mukti Bahini, the local resistance, while Balram stays back to tinker with tanks and devise improvements that could turn the tide. The Army Chief, General Sam Manekshaw, impressed by Balram’s ingenuity and grit, calls him to the front to join his regiment in the fight. The narrative follows Ram’s perilous missions, where he leads daring operations but is eventually captured and subjected to torture; through it all, he endures without breaking, protecting his identity and the secrets he holds.

The tempo shifts to the frontline where Balram’s unit, alongside the 14th Punjab battalion, breaches the border and enters the fray in the fateful Battle of Garibpur. In this brutal clash, Balram must step into command after his squadron commander, Major Daljit “Chiefy” Singh Narang, falls in action. Balram’s leadership is tested under fire as he steers his troops to a hard-won victory, even amid the personal cost that war exacts from those who lead.

Meanwhile, Radha uncovers a crucial thread from intelligence: indications that the United States Seventh Fleet is moving toward East Pakistan, threatening to swing global involvement in the conflict. The urgency accelerates the Indian operations, pressing for a decisive victory and Pakistan’s surrender before foreign intervention can shift the balance of power. A reconnection with the Mukti Bahini leads Balram toward a captured Bengali officer who has defected from the Pakistan Army, revealing a path to Major Ram’s location and a chance to end the suffering of countless Bengali women held as sex slaves.

A tense convergence follows: Indian troops locate the camp, mount a rescue, and free Major Ram from captivity just as a fierce confrontation erupts. The camp is overrun, many of the enslaved Bengali women are freed, and a sense of relief washes over the ranks as the soldiers press toward victory. The tide of battle turns decisively, and the Pakistani Army ultimately surrenders, paving the way for an independent Bangladesh. In the aftermath, Major Ram, Captain Balram, and Radha return home to the warmth of family life, bearing the scars and stories of a conflict that reshaped a region.

The film blends intimate family dynamics with sweeping military action, delivering a nuanced portrait of courage, loyalty, and resilience under extraordinary pressure. It captures not just the strategic maneuvers and battlefield heroism but also the emotional toll on those who wait, worry, and fight for a future they may never fully see.