120 Bahadur: Mitul Pradeep gets emotional as Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon features

It’s almost impossible to not be stirred on hearing the opening lines of Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon in Lata Mangeshkar’s voice. It has the same effect on Mitul Pradeep, whose father Kavi Pradeep had penned the iconic song. She is touched that six decades after the song was created to salute the soldiers and martyrs of the 1962 India–China war, it has found a special place in the teaser of 120 Bahadur, the Farhan Akhtar-starrer that depicts the Battle of Rezang La. 

Farhan Akhtar in ‘120 Bahadur’

Director Razneesh Ghai and the makers unveiled the teaser on September 28 to coincide with Mangeshkar’s birth anniversary. Touched that her father’s words continue to move listeners even today, Mitul noted that the song is a constant reminder of Indian soldiers’ bravery, sacrifice, and fighting spirit. “My father wrote Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon as a tribute to the sacrifice of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, PVC, and the brave soldiers of Charlie Company, 13 Kumaon Regiment, who laid down their lives in the Battle of Rezang La during the 1962 India-China war. Decades later, his words still carry the same emotion and remind us of the sacrifices of our armed forces. Including a few lines of these legendary lyrics in a special unit of 120 Bahadur continues to honour the heroes it was written for,” she said.