Plot

Based on an incredible true story of the Battle of Saragarhi in which an army of 21 Sikhs fought against 10,000 Afghans in 1897.

This period war-drama showcases the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi. The plot focuses on Havildar Ishar Singh, who led a platoon of 21 Sikhs against an invading army of 10,000 Afghans to defend the North-West Frontier Province. The event is considered one of the greatest last-stands in history.—beingdhruvnanda

Havildar Ishar SIngh plays a key role in the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, in which an army of 21 Sikhs fought against a legion of 10,000 Afghans in what is considered as one of the greatest last-stands in military history. The story is about how the 21 men come together as a team to achieve what the world thought of as an impossible feat.—Santhosh

Havaldar Ishwar Singh posted at Gulistan fort on Afghan border, Due to his skills a British officer becomes jealous of him as he considers Indian are not worthy of it. While returning from is patrol duty he saves an Afghan women whose trying to escape her forced marriage to save the women Ishwar Singh goes against his force as soon as they reach the fort the Afghans attack Gulistan fort. But Ishwar fights back he is then transferred to Saragrahi fort, Upon reaching there he finds the soldiers out there are not disciplined and stops their food until discipline is in place for which everyone hates. But when they find that even Ishwar Singh hasn't eaten for a week they start to respect him and discipline is bought in place. Ishwar Singh and his regiment then start to help the needy villagers, until he gets the news from British officers that 10,000 Afghan soldiers marching towards the Saragarhi fort. Ishwar Singh is given the option to back out as his army of 21 soldiers won't last for long against the 10,000 Afghan soldiers. But Ishwar Singh and his 21 soldiers fight with the Afghans until their last breath.—alex.mjacko@gmail.com

Kesari depicts events leading to the Battle of Saragarhi, a battle between the British Indian Army and Pashtun tribesmen. During the battle that was fought in the region that today lies in the northern part of Pakistan and Afghanistan, 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army held off 6,000-10,000.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had built the Sikh empire in in North and North West India. His empire borders with Afganistan. He had built many forts along the Afghan border for the safety of the kingdom. The Sikh forces kept the Afgans at check. The British when took over India they deployed Sikh Troops in the Afgan borders as Sikhs are the only force capable of defeating the Afgans. Havaldar Ishar Singh (Akshay Kumar) is part of a Sikh Troop part of British Indian Army posted at Gulistan fort along the Indian Afgan border. His immediate superior British officer is jealous of him because of Ishar Singh's superior fighting skills. The British officer thinks low about the native Indians thinking them cowards. While just returning back from a border patrol, the troop sees a group of Afgan tribesmen are trying to kill a married woman. The woman was forcefully married and she is not acknowledging her marriage. She wanted to run away from her husband's household and got caught in that process. The tribesmen led by a Mullah is about to kill the lady in the Afgan Territory where as the Sikh troop was watching this just across the Indian border. Ishar Singh saves the lady by killing the lady's husband thereby disobeying his immediate superior British officer.

Once the troop reaches the base fort, the British officer reports Ishar Singh's disobedience to his Commanding Officer who sits at near by Lackhort fort. The Commanding Officer was on his way to Gulistan fort. The Afgans attack Gulistan fort and Ishar Singh fought valiantly killing many Afghans. The joint attack by the troops available in Gulistan fort and the troops of the Commanding Officer (who was on his way to Gulistan fort) made the Afghans flee. Ishar Singh got a punishment transfer to Saragarhi Fort. Saragarhi fort sits between Gulistan and Lackhort fort and enables communication between them. When Ishar Singh's transfer orders were issued his officer humiliated him telling the Indians are cowards and they are slaves to the British. Ishar Singh moves towards Saragarhi fort. The woman he had rescued earlier gives him some sweet as a sense of gratitude. Ishar Singh fondly remembers his wife on his way to Saragarhi. When Ishar Singh reached at Sargarhi Fort to take charge he found the troop to be in mess and loose. He enforced discipline in the troop and strengthened them. The troop respected Ishar Singh. The troop has Gurmukh Singh (Sumeet Singh Basra) who knew English. Naik Lal Singh (Suvinder Vicky) was Ishar Singh's second in command. Khuda Dad is a Pathan who works as the fort cook and orderly. Meanwhile the Mullah who was trying to mob lynch the woman formed an alliance among the Afghan tribes and motivates them to attack on the Indian Territories as an unified force.

Meanwhile Ishar Singh and Lal Singh went to a near by village in search of their informer. They came to know that all young-men from the village had enlisted for war. The village is left with kids, women and old men. The villagers are struggling to repair the village mosque. Ishar Singh motivated his men to help the villagers build the mosque. The Sikhs were initially reluctant. But then they realized that one Gurdwara was build by a Muslim Fakir. That information changed their heart. Ishar Singh and his men helped the villagers with it and won the heart of the villagers. One Sikh Sepoy (who is untouchable by Indian Sciety) was touched by the fact that one Afghan village lady had gave him one almond and shown her love. The British Commanding Officer from Lockhart fort saw the Afgan Forces marching towards Sargarhi Fort. He alerted the Sargarhi Fort by some cipher code. Ishar Singh and his men received the message and saw thousands of tribesmen encircling Sargarhi Fort. They have also alerted the Gulistan Fort. The tribesmen were around ten thousand. They cut all routes of re-enforcement to Sargarhi Fort. The Mullah killed the woman whom Ishar Singh had rescued earlier in-front of the Sargarhi Fort. The Commanding Officer sent a message to the Sikh Troops to abandon the fort and flee. The Sikhs laughed listening the order of fleeing. One of the lance Naik Chanda Singh (Vansh Bharadwaj) doubted the leadership capabilities of Ishar Singh. Ishar Singh put one saffron turban and motivated the force to fight the Afgans in the name of Pride, Religion and country, not just because they are employed as Sepoy in the British Indian Army.

The Afgans were playing their drums. Ishar Singh started playing his own drum. The Afghans got demotivated and stopped playing their own. Ishar Singh than aimed at the mullah. One Afgan leader assured the Mullah that the gun is out of range and it would not reach the distance where the Afgans are standing. When Ishar Singh fired it hit one of the Afghan soldier and he died. The Sikhs got astonished as the the bullet was not supposed cover the distance. Ishar Singh explained that the air is moving from their side to the Afgans. So due to the air flow the gun was bale to hit the tribesman. Ishar Singh deployed his force in position. Gurmukh Singh asked that actually the Commanding Officer has ordered them to fight. But why Ishar Singh told that the order was to flee. Ishar Singh told that the British considered the Indians as slaves. But the Sikhs knowing that the order was to flee, denied the order and choose to fight till death against a numerically far superior enemy by their own free will. By doing so the Sikhs had chosen their death by own free will and not because they are getting paid by British. Khuda Dad volunteered to fight. But Ishar Singh told him to provide water to all soldiers, both Sikhs and Afgans when they are thirsty and it would be the greatest service on the theater of war.

The attack started by the Afgans. The Afgans has one ace marksman. He targeted one Sikh who died. Gurmukh Singh was an in-experienced soldier. He was unable to fight. So Ishar Singh asked him to keep on informing the CO about the battle condition. The information received that a British division would arrive by next day. So Ishar Singh decided to prolong the battle so that Afgans couldn't advance and Gulistan and Lockhart forts would survive. He tricked the Afgans by releasing two captured Afghan soldiers. The Afghan soldiers were denoted when they reached the Afghan camp. Ishar Singh also killed the marksman by attaching his monocular into his gun and thereby exactly targeting the marksman who was hiding in between two big rocks. Few Pathans started attacking the Fort door. The Sikhs shoot protected the door, but soon ran out of bullets. They attacked the Pathans with bayonets and Indian club. The Pathans ran away from the fort door. When the Sikhs were getting into the fort Pathans started shooting them. Lal Singh alone fought with them outside the fort and asked one of the Sepoy to close the fort door. Meanwhile the Pathans managed to destroy the back wall of the fort by using explosive. The Sikhs were only 4 remaining. Ishar Singh asked Gurmukh to send message to his old superior who had humiliated him with expletives. Gurmukh Singh messaged the same expletives to the British officer.

Ishar Singh removed his stripes from his uniform. He put his sword into fire. He gain remembered his wife. When the Afghans entered the fort Ishar Singh attacked them ferociously slaying hundreds of Afghans alone. When Ishar Singh was about to kill one Afghan, he found him to be a kid and stopped for second to spare him. In the same time one Afghan shot him. Ashar Singh kept on fighting. Khuda Dad was providing drinking water to the dying Afghans. The mullah killed him. The same Afghan kid also attacked Ishar Singh. The Mullah wanted to keep his feet on Ishar Singh's turban. When he was trying to do so Ishar Singh killed him. The Afgan chieftain impressed by Ishar Singh's bravery told his men not to touch turban and asked what his name is. The Afghan chief told that he would always remember him. Chanda Singh also got killed in the process of killing many enemies. The Afghans realized that their plan to take all the three forts by evening has failed. They could not advance any more. They need to go back.

One Afghan chief Gul Badshah (Ashwath Bhatt) couldn't digest his defeat. He wanted Gurmukh Singh burnt inside the signaling post. Gurmukh Singh written the name of all martyred including his name in the fort wall with a coal. He shot few Afghans. The Afghans fired the post. Gurmukh Singh came out of his post with fire around his body. He shouted in the name of Gurus and caught some gunpowder and hold himself to Gul Badshah. Both of them died due to the explosion. The the shout reached near by both forts. The Sikh soldier present their also started shouting in the name of their Guru. All the 21 Soldiers of 36 Sikh died in the battle of Sargarhi. The British parliament honored the martyrs with a silence of two minutes. It is one of the most fearsome battles fought ever in history like the Battle of Thermopylae.