Tushar Hiranandani unveils ‘Ragda 25’, a biopic on India’s first female army batch; film to spotlight historic 25 women

Tushar Hiranandani and his producer‑wife Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani are riding high after their film Srikanth clinched the Best Hindi Feature Film award at the 72nd National Film Awards, and they are already planning their next project. The duo, known for their biographical dramas such as Saand Ki Aankh (2019), Srikanth (2024) and the upcoming Ata Thambaycha Naay (2025), have announced a new biopic titled Ragda 25, which will chronicle the Indian Army’s first experimental batch of 25 women.

In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Hiranandani revealed that the film will focus on the trailblazing group of women who, in the early 2000s, dared to join a male‑dominated military institution. “My next film is about the first female batch of the Indian Army,” he said, underscoring the historical significance of the story. Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani added that the 25 women were “inexperienced girls who had a dream of joining the Army,” and that their success was pivotal: if even one had failed, the Army might have closed the doors to women permanently.

Parmar Hiranandani explained that the Army had no established benchmark for training female officers, so the training standards were being shaped on the fly. “The Army officials were also setting standards for female Army officers while training these girls. They realized that the girls did some things better than the boys, and vice versa,” she said, highlighting the evolving nature of the program. Hiranandani confirmed that they have secured life rights from Anjana Bhaduria, the top graduate of the inaugural batch, and that the script has received Army approval.

Production details indicate that the film will be shot entirely in a single location in Chennai, with casting largely finalized except for one major role. Parmar Hiranandani described the script as a “stunning” passion project and emphasized the importance of continual evolution in filmmaking. She noted that the duo have two more biopics in the pipeline and are also developing other scripts, while expressing a desire to balance commercial appeal with their creative DNA.

With Ragda 25 poised to shed light on a pivotal moment in India’s military history, the Hiranandani team is set to bring another inspiring true‑story narrative to the silver screen, following the success of Srikanth and their earlier works.