Panaji: Actor Farhan Akhtar has expressed his hope that his latest film, the war drama 120 Bahadur, will be granted tax-free status so that a wider audience can witness the “important” story on the big screen.

The action-packed film, which released on 21 November, is set against the backdrop of the 1962 India-China war and was screened at the ongoing 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 at the IFFI red carpet.

In 120 Bahadur, Akhtar plays Major Shaitan Singh, depicting the valour of 120 Indian soldiers who held their ground against 3,000 Chinese troops during one of India’s defining military moments.

“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,” Akhtar said.

Directed by Razneesh Ghai, the film is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under Excel Entertainment, along with Amit Chandrra of Trigger Happy Studios.