Fighter Movie Review

Group Captain Rakesh Jaisingh (Anil Kapoor), call sign Rocky, is the leader of the newly formed Air Dragons unit of the Indian Air Force. Based out of Jammu, it’s a quick response search, rescue and destroy unit comprising a mixed bunch of fighter pilots as well as helicopter pilots. Besider Rocky, its other key members include Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania (Hrithik Roshan), callsign Patty, Squadron Leader Minal Rathore, call sight Minni, Squadron Leader Sartaj Gill (Karan Singh Grover), call sign Taj and Squadron Leader Basheer Khan (Akshay Oberoi), call sign Bash. They're all top air force pilots gathered together in an elite unit. Don’t ask us why Hrithik’s call sign isn’t Shammi, which would have been cooler.

Patty is arguably the best fighter pilot in India but has the tendency to not follow orders and as a result, always has an issue with the higher ups. He and Rocky share a history. Meanwhile, dreaded terrorist Ashraz Ahmed (Rishabh Sawhney), has plans for Indian troops stationed in Kashmir. He brainwashes a Kashmiri youth into executing a suicide bomb attack on a convoy carrying Indian soldiers. In retaliation, the Indian PM gives permission to the IAF to execute an across the border raid against the terrorist camp in Pakistan. The mission is successful, and Pakistan retaliates by targeting IAF bases in Kashmir, which is essentially an act of war. Indian air command stops its pilots from following the Pakistani planes across the border. Due to radio jamming, Patty, Taj and Bash slip across the border and are ambushed. While Patty escapes, Taj and Bash have to eject and are captured. Patty is shunted off as an instructor to Air Force academy in Hyderabad, while the Indian government tries to get their pilots back through diplomatic means. But it seems that’ll not be enough and another surgical strike needs to be mounted…

Tom Cruise’s Top Gun (1986) is the big daddy of all aerial combat films. While Siddharth Anand is clearly inspired by the hit Hollywood film, he doesn’t copy the film’s plot points and instead draws upon real happenings, like the Pulwama attack or the capture of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistani forces after his aircraft crashed in POK after a dogfight. Of course, it being a commercial film, everything we see is larger than life and doesn’t bear semblance to actual clandestine operations. The film is high on production values and money is spent lavishly to make the air combat scenes look as thrilling as possible. The action, be it aerial or on-ground, which we see during the climax, is top notch. But Fighter isn’t just a film about cocky air force pilots doing their stuff. It also showcases the camaraderie, the brotherhood, that exists between the members of elite fighting units. The unit works hard and parties harder and there’s even a hint of a dalliance between Patty and Minni. As Pakistan or to be more precise, the terrorists sponsored by our neighbouring state are the enemies here, the film segues into hardcore patriotism as well. The pace of the film never slacks. We see one action sequence after another, interspersed by emotional scenes.

Hrithik Roshan was perhaps named Pathania as a homage to Pathaan (2023), which too was directed by Siddharth Anand. Pathania is a genuine Rajput surname and not made up, by the by. Hrithik doesn’t just play an arrogant fighter pilot, there’s a vulnerability to his character, a tragic undercurrent, which the actor has captured well. The actor has the ability to render the emotional side of his character, even in an action film. And he showcases that here as well. Whether it’s the guilt of losing his colleagues or his patriotic fervour, Hrithik makes it all look real. Deepika Padukone too isn’t just a gung-ho chopper pilot. She too has a backstory and her inner turmoil is poignantly executed. She too is an actor who knows how to slip inside the skin of her character and give us a glimpse of what the person really is. It’s strange that these two good-looking, tried and tested performers were never cast together before. They look well-matched and share a great chemistry. Now what they need is a proper romantic film. Anil Kapoor is 60 plus but here he’s playing a character who must be in his early 50s or late 40s. He’s the proper and strict soldier, who always follows protocols and his Rocky offers the correct counterpoint to Hrithik’s Patty. Rishabh Sawhney sure looks all buffed up but doesn’t really send chills down our spines as a ruthless villain.

All-in-all, Fighter is a homage not only to IAF but to our armed forces in general. It’s an easy breezy action film cut with a oodles of patriotism and is buoyed by bankable performances. Watch it for its top notch aerial duels and for Hrithik and Deepika’s chemistry.

Trailer : Fighter