Tushar Hiranandani and Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani are turning to another remarkable real-life story with Ragda 25, a film inspired by the Indian Army’s pioneering 1992 experimental batch of 25 women cadets. The project explores a little-known chapter in military history, when the performance of these first women trainees carried enormous significance for whether women would continue to get an opportunity to enter the Army’s non-medical branch.
The announcement comes soon after Srikanth, directed by Tushar Hiranandani and produced by Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani, won the Best Hindi Feature Film honour at the 72nd National Film Awards. The new project continues their interest in stories drawn from real lives, but takes that approach into an entirely different setting: the demanding world of military training.
Ragda 25 focuses on 25 inexperienced women who entered the Army as part of an experiment at a time when there was no established benchmark for training female officers. According to Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani, the stakes were so high that if the batch had failed, the Army could have closed its doors to women. She further explained that even one woman failing could have affected whether women were allowed into the Army in the future.
What makes the story especially unusual is that the training system itself was being worked out alongside the experiment. Since previous training had been designed around men, Army officials did not have an existing blueprint for female officers. They were therefore developing standards and finalising rules as the women trained, while discovering that the recruits could perform some tasks better than men, while men could have an advantage in others. That evolving process forms an important part of the film’s historical backdrop.
The makers have also secured the life rights of Anjana Bhaduria, who topped the pioneering batch. Her direct connection to the experiment gives Ragda 25 a personal link to the women whose experiences are at the heart of the story. Tushar Hiranandani has also revealed that the script was submitted to the Indian Army under the required process and has received approval.
The production is being designed around the intensity of training rather than the scale of a conventional war film. Ragda 25 will be shot entirely at a single location in Chennai, which will recreate the Officers Training Academy setting. The compact approach keeps the focus on the women, their training and the pressures surrounding an experiment whose rules were still taking shape.
Casting is nearing completion, with the makers waiting to finalise one major role before moving ahead. The screenplay has been written by Sumukhi Suresh, adding a dimension to a project that combines a historical subject with a contemporary storytelling voice. The aim is not to turn the women into symbols alone, but to tell the story through the pressures, choices and training that shaped their journey.
The project also extends a filmmaking path that has repeatedly drawn Tushar Hiranandani and Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani towards real stories. Their earlier work includes Saand Ki Aankh and Srikanth, while Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani also produced and Tushar Hiranandani served as creative producer on the Marathi film Ata Thambaycha Naay. Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani has described Ragda 25 as a passion project, while stressing the need for filmmakers to keep evolving rather than repeatedly telling the same kind of story.
With its unusual historical setting, direct connection to Anjana Bhaduria and focus on the first women to undergo this experimental Army training, Ragda 25 has a story that stands apart from conventional military dramas. More importantly, it brings an overlooked chapter of India’s military journey to the screen, giving audiences a chance to see how 25 women became part of an experiment that helped shape a new path for women in the Army.
