How did Gunga Din portray the British sergeants stationed in colonial India?

In the 1939 film directed by George Stevens, the British sergeants—Cutter, MacChesney, and Ballantine—are portrayed as a trio of maverick adventurers stationed in 19th-century colonial India.1

Rather than being depicted as conventional or strictly disciplined soldiers, the film characterizes them as independent, adventurous figures who operate with a sense of camaraderie and daring. Their mission to investigate a cut telegraph line leads them into conflict with a murderous religious sect, highlighting their roles as active participants in the colonial military landscape of the era.1