''21 Sarfarosh – Saragarhi 1897'' is an Indian

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television series starring Mohit Raina, Prakhar Shukla and

Mukul Dev Mukul Dev Kaushal (; 17 September 1970 – 23 May 2025) was an Indian television and film actor. He was renowned for his roles in Hindi and Punjabi films, TV series, and music albums, and also appeared in Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, and Te ...

. The show is based on the

Battle of Saragarhi The Battle of Saragarhi was a Last stand, last-stand battle fought before the Tirah Campaign between the British Raj, British Indian Empire and Afghans, Afghan tribesmen. On 12 September 1897, an estimated 12,000–24,000 Orakzai and Afridi trib ...

, fought between

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

soldiers of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

and

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

Orakzai tribesmen. Produced by Contiloe Entertainment, it ran from 12 February to 11 May 2018, on Discovery Jeet. Netflix acquired the international broadcast rights of the series for 190 Countries.

Plot summary

The series presents a fictionalized depiction of the events leading up to the final battle between the Orakzais and the 36 Sikh Regiment.

Cast

* Mohit Raina as

Havildar Ishar Singh Havildar Ishar Singh (1858 – 12 September 1897), was an Indian-Sikh Havildar and war hero of the 36th Sikhs. He was known leading the regiment on a last stand against the 3 strong Pashtun tribesmen with 20 other men at the Battle of Saragarh ...

, who leads all the Sikhs in the regiment *

as Gul Badshah, Leader of the Orakzais *

Alexx O'Nell Alexander Leonard O'Neill (born 26 July 1980) is an American actor and musician who works in Indian films. He is best known for his roles in the films '' L2: Empuraan'', '' Ae Watan Mere Watan'', '' Khufiya'', '' Golondaaj'', '' Roohi'', '' Aarya ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, an

Officer on Special Duty Officer on Special Duty (OSD), or Special Duties Officer, is an officer post in the civil services in Brunei, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Pakistan. Brunei Special Duties Officer (Pegawai Tugas-Tugas Khas) is an officer level of Brunei Daruss ...

who introduces the

Heliograph A heliograph () is a solar telegraph system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code from the 1840s) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a s ...

to the regiment * Prakhar Shukla as Lance Naik Chanda Singh * Gaurav Vasudev as Officer Watson * Shakku Rana as Mahmudullah, a leader of another tribe of Orazkzais, who joins Gul Badshah * Balraj Singh Khehra as

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () is a term related to ''sipahi'', denoting professional Indian infantrymen, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire and the Maratha. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its Euro ...

Buta Singh, one of Ishar's most trusted men * Sascha Maximus as

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

John Haughton, commanding officer of Fort Gulistan *

Luke Kenny Luke Kenny is an Indian actor, film director, producer, music director, composer, and former VJ. He began his career as a DJ, followed by a successful stint as the first male VJ on Channel V. He gained widespread recognition for his role in t ...

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Des Voeux, commanding officer of Fort Lockhart * Danny Sura as Captain Henry Mayne, who seems to show hatred and racism to the Sikhs * Bhawsheel Singh Sahni as Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, youngest soldier and Teresa's love interest * Vikram Mastal (Sharma) as Sepoy Balwinder Singh, a wrestler who opposes Ishar and becomes a soldier * Jaspal Sehgal as Sepoy Bhagwan Singh, who runs an orphanage * Pippa Hughes as Teresa, a maid in the fort who is in love with Gurmukh *

Sameksha Samiksha Singh (born 8 October 1985), known mononoymously as Sameksha, is an Indian film and television actress. She has played a range of characters in various series and films, in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Hindi an ...

as Jeevani "Sohni" Kaur, Ishar Singh's wife * Kamaljeet Rana as Sepoy Sunder Singh * Rahul Ranaa as Sepoy Kala singh * Jashan Singh Kohli as Sepoy Hira Singh, who has special affection towards Seymour * Bobby Gill as Sepoy Narayan Singh, Ram Singh's older brother *

Rishina Kandhari Rishina Kandhari is an Indian actress whose major roles include Princess Khyati on ''Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev'', the Goddess Laxmi in ''Tenali Rama'', Empress Hamida Banu Begum Hamida Banu Begum (Persian: حمیده بانو بیگم; ...

as Begum, Gul Badshah's wife *

Suzanne Bernert Suzanne Bernert (born 26 September 1982) is a German actress based in India who works in Indian film and television industries in various languages. She is the first foreign actress to feature in major roles in Hindi television industry. Berner ...

as Queen Victoria in a special Appearance

Awards

Indian Television Academy Awards * 2018 - Best Actor (Drama) - Mohit Raina Indian Telly Awards * 2019 - Best Actor (Jury) - Mohit Raina * 2019 Best Actor in a Negative Role(Jury)-

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:21 Sarfarosh Saragarhi 1897 Discovery Jeet original programming Indian drama television series Hindi-language television shows 2018 Indian television series debuts 2018 Indian television series endings Television series set in the 1890s Indian historical television series War television series Television series based on actual events Indian military television series Television shows set in Afghanistan Television shows set in the British Raj Fiction about Sikhism