Kesari (2019 film)

Kesari (transl. Saffron) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language historical war action film starring Akshay Kumar and directed by Anurag Singh. It follows the events leading to the Battle of Saragarhi, a battle between 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army invade and attack 10,000 Afridi and Orakzai Pashtun tribesmen in 1897.

Initially planned as a production collaboration between Salman Khan and Johar with Kumar starring in the lead role, Kesari was announced in October 2017, with Kumar and Johar reprising their responsibilities; Khan later quit the project. Parineeti Chopra was cast as the wife of Kumar's character. Principal photography for the film began in January 2018 and concluded in December. The soundtrack was composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Chirantan Bhatt, Jasbir Jassi, Gurmoh and Jasleen Royal with lyrics written by Kumaar, Manoj Muntashir, Kunwar Juneja and Bagchi. Produced on a budget of ₹80 crore (equivalent to ₹99 crore or US$12 million in 2023), the film was distributed internationally by Zee Studios.

The film was released in India during the Holi festival, on 21 March 2019. The film grossed over ₹207 crore worldwide.