‘You will find many lovers in the world, but you will not find any lover more beautiful than your own country.’ Wrapped in diamonds, wrapped in gold, many must have died, there is no more beautiful shroud than the tricolor…’ At the beginning of the film, Hrithik expresses his intentions by reciting this couplet to his fellow fighter pilots. Many films were announced after the Balakot air strike in 2019, but due to Covid-19, most of the projects could not go ahead. The film ‘Fighter’, inspired by this air strike on terrorist camps of Pakistan, has been released five years after that incident i.e. in 2024.
‘Fighter’ is being called India’s first aerial action film. However, before this, a similar mission of the Indian Air Force was shown in Kangana Ranaut’s film ‘Tejas’ released last year. However, the process of showing the exploits of the Air Force on the cinema screen will continue. Telugu hero Varun Tej’s film ‘Operation Valentine’, to be released next month, and Akshay Kumar’s film ‘Sky Force’, to be released on Dussehra, are also said to be based on the action mission of the Indian Air Force.
Along with Paddy, there are many courageous pilots including Meenal Rathod (Deepika Padukone), Sartaj Gill (Karan Singh Grover), Squadron Leader Bashir Khan (Akshay Oberoi). Group Captain Rakesh Jai Singh (Anil Kapoor) trains this team. Meanwhile, Meenal gets attracted towards Paddy.
Paddy has a past that haunts him. On the other hand, seventy Indian soldiers have been martyred in the attack on CRPF convoy in Jammu following terrorist threat. The mastermind of this attack is Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Azhar Akhtar (Rishabh Ravindra).
Hurt by this incident, the Indian Air Force decided to retaliate. She carries out air strikes on Jaish targets across the border. Meanwhile, Paddy’s close friend Taj and one of his associates reach the Pakistani border and are caught.
Due to Paddy’s mistakes during this operation, he is sent to Hyderabad. What action does the Air Force take regarding the release of both the pilots? Will the Air Force allow Paddy to bring them back safely? This is what the story is about.
40 soldiers were martyred in the attack on Indian security forces in Pulwama, Kashmir. This attack has been carried out by dreaded terrorist Azhar Akhtar (Rishabh Sahni). Indian Air Force has received orders to give a befitting reply to the terrorists. To execute this mission, Group Captain Rakesh Jai Singh alias Rocky (Anil Kapoor) along with his Air Dragon unit’s fighter pilots Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania alias Patty (Hrithik Roshan), Squadron Leader Minal Rathore alias Minnie (Deepika Padukone), Squadron Leader Sartaj Come with Gil. alias Taj (Karan Singh Grover) and Squadron Leader Bashir Khan alias Baash (Akshay Oberoi) have been assigned the responsibility.
Many terrorist camps have been destroyed in this mission. The agitated Pakistani Air Force attacks Indian airports, to which the Indian Air Force gives a befitting reply. In this skirmish, two Indian pilots Taj and Bash cross the LOC and are captured by the Pakistani army. To know the story beyond this, you will have to go to the cinema hall.
Siddharth Anand, who had made the superhit film ‘Pathan’ last year and before that ‘War’, has made a good film on the theme of Air Force. The film starts slowly. The director takes a lot of time to introduce the characters. But the film picks up pace even before the interval. In the second part the story reaches its thrilling peak. The climax of the film is also tremendous. Especially many times in the film, the tremendous action scenes of fighter plane fight thrill you.
The story of the film is good and Siddharth has portrayed it beautifully on screen. The cinematography, VFX and background score of the film has also become good. However, the script of the film definitely becomes weak at some places. The music of the film is also nothing special. Some songs slow down the pace of the film. The length of the film could have been reduced by 15 minutes on the editing table.
Talking about acting, Hrithik Roshan is playing the role of a fighter pilot, while Deepika Padukone was once again seen in excellent form after ‘Pathan’. Anil Kapoor has done a good job in the film. Rishabh Sahni is also in the role of villain. However, he got less screenspace than expected. The rest of the cast including Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi have also done a good job.