One of the best films made on the Indian Air Force. Hrithik, Deepika and Anil play perfect wings in taking the flight to another level.
'Fighter' is directed by Siddharth Anand. (X)
When growing up, many of us would have thought of becoming a pilot — at least once in all our lives. Seeing those fighter planes pierce through the skies in the blink of an eye is enough to imagine the adrenaline rush one could feel while flying them.
It’s a moment of pride for anyone to see an Indian Air Force fighter pilot protecting the Indian skies at all costs and round-the-clock!
A few Indian films have been made on the Indian Air Force, including Gunjan Saxena-The Kargil Girl (2020) and Tejas (2023).
The previous two had Indian women pilots in control.
The latest outing from director Siddharth Anand, who delivered one of India’s highest-grossing movies, returns with action. This time, he takes the aerial route filled with patriotism.
Well, it’s time to take off…
Hrithik Roshan in ‘Fighter’. (X)
The film is set against the backdrop of the 2019 Pulwama Attack, where 40 brave Indian soldiers were martyred, and the retaliation to it by the Indian Air Force with the Balakot airstrike.
The movie takes off with a terrorist making a video before cowardly blowing up the convoy of vehicles carrying brave Indian soldiers.
Then, the scenes shift to a year ago when the best of the best Indian Air Force fighter pilots were handpicked for their superior skills to be a part of a special unit.
Amongst others, the unit includes Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania aka Patty (Hrithik Roshan), Squadron Leader Minal Rathore aka Minni (Deepika Padukone), and Group Captain/Commanding Officer Rakesh Jai Singh aka Rocky (Anil Kapoor).
Karan Singh Grover and Akash Oberoi also play the Squadron Leaders.
What follows next for two-and-a-half-plus hours is a decent aerial combat experience with a patriotic touch laced with brotherhood, a tiny bit of romance, and loads of dog fights that keep the audience on the edge of their seat on most occasions.
Vishal-Sheykhar composed the music for ‘Fighter’. (X)
Like most of the films based on air forces even beyond Bollywood, there is always this ‘lone fighter’ who is extremely skilled in the skies but has an issue obeying the orders of one’s commander.
Be it Pete Maverick Mitchell played by Tom Cruise in Top Gun (1986) or Owen Wilson in Behind the Enemy Lines (2001).
Almost every such cinematic experience has the best ones, defying orders for various reasons. Here, Patty, the top aviator, has similar issues. To find out why, watch the movie.
Patty comes with a past attached — losing his fiance, a chopper pilot who happens to be the younger sister of his existing immediate commanding officer.
When a similar situation arises with one of his best friends and members of the special units, Patty is transferred to Hyderabad as a trainer.
Though not an expert on military functioning and its operations, the film team seems to have done good research on the Indian Air Force.
The detailing of officers, the rules and regulations, and how the Air Force personnel function in real are made to look professional on the reel.
Deepika Padukone in ‘Fighter’. (X)
The best part of Fighter is that it equally focuses on women in the Air Force and their growing powers in the sky.
While Gunjan Saxena and Tejas had women in complete limelight, Deepika Padukone’s character, too, has a similar notion that many still believe that women cannot fly.
Deepika’s portrayal is more as a chopper pilot than just as a pretty-looking woman pilot or for filling up the glamour quotient.
On the sets of ‘Fighter’. (X)
For those unaware of what a dogfight in the Air Force means, it is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Air-to-air combat, in modern terminology, is referred to as air combat manoeuvring. But, in movies, we often hear them as “dogfights”.
The film has several such dogfight sequences between Indian and Pakistani air forces.
It is highly recommended to watch Fighter in the “3D” version to experience the dogfights for more effectiveness. No guesses for who wins the aerial combats and whether the main terrorist is killed in the end.
While Siddharth Anand delivers a better experience than Pathaan, it is the performances of the trio — Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, and the forever young Anil Kapoor who charm the most in the air and also on the ground.
Fighter is certainly one of the best films made on the Indian Air Force, with better aerial combat sequences infused with patriotism and some much-needed drama, both on and off the sky.
(Views expressed here are personal.)
May 03, 2024
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