The film has been produced by
Excel Entertainment and Trigger Happy Studios, with Rucha Pathak, Kassim Jagmagia, Vishal Ramchandani, and Jigyasa Sharma as co-producers, Arhan Bagati as the associate executive producer, and Sunitha Ram as the executive producer.
Development The first-look poster of the film was released on 18 November 2024, as a tribute on the 62nd anniversary of the Battle of Rezang La, which is recognised as a legendary battle fought on the freezing heights of Eastern Ladakh. Based on the true story, the film marks the return to acting for Farhan Akhtar after three years of
Toofaan (2021). In the film he portrays the role of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati. While music is being composed by
Amit Trivedi; the lyrics have been penned by acclaimed poet and lyricist,
Javed Akhtar who is also father of Farhan Akhtar. While
Tetsuo Nagata, a Japanese-born French cinematographer has been recruited as
DOP for the film.
Rameshwar S. Bhagat has been recruited as
editor for the film. The film's dialogue have been written by Sumit Arora and screenplay is by Rajiv G Menon. In order to recreate the battle scene with authenticity, the makers of the film brought in
Snow Business to recreate vast snow-covered landscape. For developing authentic looking action sequences for the film and to keep the theme intact, the producers roped in the same action team that worked on a recent
Oscar-winning
World War 1 film. During shooting in Ladakh, a team of over 600 was present to manage fighting and explosive scenes. To prepare for the film, lead actor Farhan Akhtar who is essaying the role of Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, and other actors underwent a significant transformation, with military-style training including
hand-to-hand combat and acclimatisation for high altitude.
Choreography has been done by Vijay Ganguly.
Casting The film marks
Farhan Akhtar's return to acting after three years since
Toofaan, as he portrays the role of
Shaitan Singh.
Raashii Khanna plays the female lead opposite him. The cast also includes Sparsh Walia,
Ankit Siwach,
Vivan Bhatena, Dhanveer Singh,
Filming Principal photography of the film commenced on 4 September 2024, in
Ladakh with logistical support of
Indian Army and has been shot majorly in Ladakh, with some scenes in
Rajasthan and
Mumbai. A large part of the film has been shot in the high hills of Ladakh at a height of 14,000 feet where actors battled not just temperatures of -10 degrees
Celsius but also a lack of oxygen. In late January the final schedule of the film was held in
Jaipur, Rajasthan over 10 days where flashback scenes related to Farhan's character Shaitan Singh were shot. The 15-day Mumbai schedule was concluded in December 2024. Filming in harsh terrain of Ladakh was difficult, even Eijaz Khan considered a fit actor suffered breathing trouble on the 2nd day of the shoot. During the filming, the actors were trained by the team that worked in
All Quiet on the Western Front in body language, hand-to-hand combat, weapons handling, as well as on how to operate a
.303 rifle. Bollywood actor
Amitabh Bachchan gave his
voice-over for the opening sequence of the film. His voice has been added in post-production. It was revealed during an episode of
Kaun Banega Crorepati when Farhan Akhtar and his father
Javed Akhtar participated as celebrity contestant and requested Amitabh Bachchan to give voice over of opening sequence as a request. The
background music has been given by Satish Raghunathan while sound mixing has been done by Pranav Shukla. The protestors have threatened to expand the agitation after 26 October 2025 if the name was not changed. They demanded that the martyrs should be named, and a tribute should be paid to them at the end of the film, otherwise they will boycott the film. After protests in Haryana and
Rajasthan against the title of the film, other demonstrations were organized in
Uttar Pradesh on the same lines threatening to stop the release in Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar. In August 2025, Ahir Janjagrati Foundation of Rajasthan had sent a
legal notice to Farhan Akhtar and others for downplaying the contribution of Ahir Yadav community. In October 2025, hundreds of protestors in Gurgaon, Bal Kishan Yadav,
BJP leader and councillor from
Manesar, explaining : "Our community is here today to ensure our valiant efforts are reflected in history instead of being wiped out as is being attempted. The character Farhan Akhtar plays (Major Shaitan Singh) did lead the 100+
Ahirs but our sacrifice should not be forgotten by promoting only the
Chauhan community.” A group of ahir yadav leaders in Gurgaon, have threatened to stall the release of the film in Harayana, if the name of the film is not changed to '120 Veer Ahir' and claimed the title is an insult to their martyred. The protestors on 28 October 2025 also blocked the
NH-48 with protest march for several hours. Some even demanded the setting up of separate Ahir Regiment. Ahir community members on 9 November 2025 threatened to file
FIRs against Farhan Akhtar, if name is not changed. The Ahirs under the banner of Sanyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha have threatened to stop the screening of the film, demanding that the film name must be changed. In a sort of reply to accusations
Farhan Akhtar while promoting the film on
Aap Ki Adalat revealed the reason, why he named the film
120 Bahadur. The
Delhi High Court dismissed an 11th hour
PIL filed by the Sanyukt Ahir Regiment Morcha, saying the film distorts historical facts and demanding a change in the film's name. The court further said, if any change or correction is required, it should be done on over-the-top (OTT) release, clearing the film's release as scheduled. ==Marketing==