Salman Khan Says Filming 'Battle of Galwan' Will Be 'Intense': 'Film Has Hand-to-Hand Combat in Freezing Waters of Ladakh'

Superstar Salman Khan is ready for the challenge of filming his upcoming feature, Battle of Galwan, which will go on floors by July end in Ladakh. Khan, who will be seen as an army officer in the film, says he is "dreading" shooting the film as the team will film crucial action sequences in the "freezing waters" of Leh-Ladakh.

Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Battle of Galwan is based on India’s Most Fearless, the bestselling book by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh, chronicling the Galwan Valley confrontation between Indian and Chinese forces in June 2020 — one of the most severe border clashes in over four decades.

In the film, Khan is set to portray Colonel Bikumalla Santosh Babu, the commanding officer who led his men during the encounter. "We start shooting in 10 days. It's a tough one—intense, all hand-to-hand combat in the freezing waters of Leh-Ladakh. We'll be in fresh snow-melting water for 8 days straight. I'm dreading it, but I'll do it," Khan told NDTV in an interview.

In the Galwan Valley conflict, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed, with nearly 45 Chinese casualties. In September 2020, for the first time in 45 years, shots were fired along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

This will be the first collaboration between Khan and Lakhia, known for films like Shootout at Lokhandwala, Mission Istaanbul, and Ram Charan's Hindi debut Zanjeer.

The makers had announced Battle of Galwan last week, describing it as a film which would chronicle the "most brutal battle" India fought, over 15,000 ft. above sea level, without firing a single bullet. The motion poster featured Khan in a new look, sporting a moustache, with blood dripping from his forehead, gripping a thorn-covered wooden stick.

While there is no release date attached, it is rumoured that Battle of Galwan might release between January and June 2026. The film also stars Chitrangda Singh, who was recently seen in Housefull 5.