MAATRUBHUMI: MAY WAR REST IN PEACE (2026)

Summary:

Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace (originally announced as Battle of Galwan) is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language military war drama written and directed by Apoorva Lakhia (Shootout at Lokhandwala, Haseena Parkar) and produced by Salman Khan under his banner Salman Khan Films in association with Jio Studios. Loosely adapted from a chapter in the acclaimed non-fiction book India's Most Fearless (2022) by investigative defense journalist Shiv Aroor, the film dramatizes the real-life events surrounding the intense 2020 China–India skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Starring Salman Khan as the decorated martyr Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu (Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, posthumously honored with the Maha Vir Chakra) and Chitrangada Singh as his steadfast wife Santoshi, the film features an ensemble cast including Mukesh Rishi, Anoop Bikram Shahi, Ankur Bhatia, Zeyn Shaw, and Abhilash Chaudhary, with narration provided by Vijay Raaz. The film depicts the high-altitude hand-to-hand combat fought in sub-zero freezing waters with iron rods, nailed clubs, and bare fists under strict non-firearm treaties, honoring national sovereignty, valor, and the personal grief of military families. Keywords: Maatrubhumi May War Rest in Peace, Battle of Galwan, Salman Khan 2026, Colonel Santosh Babu, Chitrangada Singh, Apoorva Lakhia, 16 Bihar Regiment, Galwan Valley Clash.

Plot:

The story of Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace opens against the barren, jagged ridgelines and sub-zero temperatures of the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, positioned over fourteen thousand feet above sea level along the sensitive, disputed Line of Actual Control. Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, a deeply principled, calm, and respected commanding officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, oversees forward border security with an emphasis on discipline, vigilance, and diplomatic protocols. Back home in Telangana, his devoted wife Santoshi and their young children represent the emotional anchor of his existence. While Santoshi endures the quiet, constant anxieties familiar to every military spouse, Colonel Babu maintains daily contact through sporadic satellite calls, reassuring his family of his safe return once his scheduled tenure concludes. However, rising geopolitical friction along the LAC rapidly shatters the fragile peace of the northern frontier.

Tensions escalate in the spring of 2020 when Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) detachments begin establishing unauthorized observation posts, fortified observation tents, and heavy military infrastructure well into disputed territory on the Indian side of Patrol Point 14. Bound by long-standing bilateral border agreements that prohibit the discharge of firearms within two kilometers of the LAC to prevent all-out war, Colonel Babu is tasked with de-escalating the standoff through high-level military dialogues. Confronting a cunning, aggressive PLA commander played by Anoop Bikram Shahi, Colonel Babu engages in several tense rounds of military talks, demanding that the PLA dismantle their encroachment in accordance with mutually agreed disengagement pacts. Although formal agreements are reached at the commander level, field scouts report that the foreign forces have dishonored their commitment, covertly reinforcing their observation bunker on the rugged ledge overlooking the freezing Galwan River.

Determined to prevent any permanent territorial alteration and avert broader hostilities through peaceful negotiation, Colonel Babu leads an unarmed delegation of approximately fifty soldiers and officers from the 16 Bihar Regiment on the fateful evening of June 15, 2020, to inspect Patrol Point 14 and verify the dismantling of the tent. Upon reaching the post, Babu discovers that not only has the foreign garrison failed to withdraw, but hundreds of Chinese reinforcements have taken up concealed positions along the surrounding cliff ridges. When Colonel Babu firmly confronts the opposing officers and orders the immediate dismantling of the unauthorized structure, the conversation turns violent. Refusing to yield sovereign ground, the Indian contingent is ambushed by hundreds of PLA soldiers armed with barbaric makeshift melee weapons, including iron rods wrapped in barbed wire, heavy steel maces, and studded wooden batons.

What follows is an excruciating, chaotic melee that unfolds in pitch-black darkness amidst freezing gale winds and treacherous vertical cliffs. Strictly adhering to non-firing rules of engagement, the outnumbered Indian soldiers fight back with bare knuckles, bayonets, and combat stones. Despite suffering severe head trauma from incoming stone projectiles, Colonel Babu refuses to abandon the frontline, rallying his troops with the regiment's ancestral war cry: Bajrang Bali Ki Jai. He leads the defense from the front, shielding his younger subalterns and junior officers while driving the aggressive vanguard backward along the narrow precipice. The clash escalates into a brutal, claustrophobic war of attrition along the crumbling ridgeline, where soldiers grapple in deadly hand-to-hand combat, with dozens tumbling off the narrow cliffs into the fast-flowing, sub-zero glacial waters of the Galwan River.

As news of the bloody ambush reaches the Indian operational command posts downstream, quick-reaction rescue units led by the regiment's senior subedars and veteran officers mobilize across rugged rocky terrain, navigating treacherous river crossings under the cover of night. By the time reinforcements arrive, the fierce resistance mounted by Babu’s men has successfully repelled the foreign assault and forced the PLA into a disoriented retreat back across the ridgeline, albeit at an immense and agonizing cost. Colonel Babu, having fought to his absolute physical limits while ensuring his injured comrades were pulled from the freezing current, succumbs to severe head injuries and hypothermia beside the water’s edge, making the supreme sacrifice alongside nineteen of his brave soldiers.

The concluding chapter of Maatrubhumi moves away from the battlefield to portray the solemn, heart-wrenching aftermath across the country. In the ancestral hometown of Suryapet, Telangana, Santoshi and the family receive the devastating news of Babu's martyrdom. Rather than collapsing under grief, Santoshi displays extraordinary dignity and grace, holding her children close as the nation unites in collective mourning and reverence during the military funeral. The narrative honors the ultimate sacrifice of the 16 Bihar Regiment, illustrating how their resolute defiance at Patrol Point 14 defended India's territorial integrity and thwarted hostile strategic expansionism without triggering a global thermonuclear conflict. The film concludes on an emotional, stirring tribute as Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu is posthumously bestowed the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second-highest military decoration, leaving the audience with an enduring contemplation of the heavy human price paid for sovereignty, immortalizing the film's poignant subtitle: May War Rest in Peace.

Cast:

• Salman Khan as Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu (Maha Vir Chakra, Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment)

• Chitrangada Singh as Santoshi (Colonel Santosh Babu's wife)

• Anoop Bikram Shahi as PLA Major (Chinese People's Liberation Army Commander)

• Mukesh Rishi as Lieutenant General / Northern Army Commander

• Ankur Bhatia as Major Sandeep (Second-in-Command, 16 Bihar)

• Zeyn Shaw as Lieutenant (Young Forward Observation Officer)

• Abhilash Chaudhary as Subedar (16 Bihar Regiment)

• Vijay Raaz as The Narrator (Voiceover)

• Suhasini Mulay as Colonel Babu's Mother

• Shishir Sharma as Senior Ministry of External Affairs Official

Crew:

• Director: Apoorva Lakhia

• Screenplay: Chintan Gandhi

• Dialogues: Chintan Shah

• Story: Shiv Aroor, Suresh Nair

• Based on: A chapter from the non-fiction book India's Most Fearless (2022) by Shiv Aroor

• Producer: Salman Khan

• Production Company: Salman Khan Films (SKF)

• Domestic Theatrical Distributor: Jio Studios

• Director of Photography: Fasahat Khan

• Editor: Steven H. Bernard

• Songs Composed by: Himesh Reshammiya, Ayaan Lall, Shamir Tandon, Kumar Gaurav Singh, Sajid Khan

• Background Score: Amar Mohile

• Lyricists: Sameer Anjaan, Shabbir Ahmed, Vishwadeep Zeest

• Action Directors / Stunt Choreographers: Sham Kaushal, Yannick Ben

• Production Designer: Subrata Chakraborty, Amit Ray

• Military & Technical Consultant: Retd. Indian Armed Forces Defense Advisory Board

Release Info:

• Theatrical Release Date: 4 December 2026

• Original Country: India

• Original Language: Hindi

• Genre: War / Military Action Drama / Patriotic Biography

• Format: Standard Theatrical, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, IMAX

• Censor Certification: U/A 16+ (Realistic Combat Sequences and Thematic Violence)

• Music Label: Salman Khan Films Music