Fighter (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – An aspirational young man named Shamsher Pathania must overcome his obstacles after enlisting in the Indian Air Force in order to become a hero of the Indian Armed Forces.

My Take – With successful action thrillers like Bang Bang (2014), War (2019) and Pathaan (2023) behind him, writer-director Siddharth Anand has indeed carved a niche for himself with larger-than-life, good-looking commercial entertainers.

His template is simple: He casts good-looking stars, serves plot twists that are just clever enough, delivers solid action set pieces and laces them with patriotic flavor and over the top masala sensibility that is still widely accepted and adored by a large section of the Indian audience.

His latest too, riding high on India’s Republic Day fervor, is a big-screen spectacle that soars high on the entertainment quotient. Touted to be India’s first aerial action thriller, the film follows familiar cues but adds dollops of glamour, high-octane action scenes and loads of patriotism to bolster its gripping narrative and competently mounted, shot and edited film.

Most importantly, it once again proves why Hrithik Roshan continues to be one of the most in-demand actors in the country. Here too he steals the show and grabs your attention with his captivating and charming demeanor.

Sure, it is no Top Gun (1986) or Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and relies on the usual tropes of a dreaded Pakistani militant on a mission to destroy India and how their heroes save the day, yet, when those birds soar high in the air, there is nothing that can take your eyes off the screen. Consistently engaging, for all the derivative genre components it compiles, is an action entertainer that crackles with energy.

The story follows Squadron Leader Shamsher “Patty” Pathania (Hrithik Roshan), a decorated and brave Indian Air Force (IAF) officer who loves showboating, much to the chagrin of his commanding officers. Bearing the weight of a tragic past on his shoulders, Patty joins the Air Dragons, a new unit led by Group Captain Rakesh “Rocky” Jai Singh (Anil Kapoor).

Consisting of Squadron Leaders Minal “Minni” Rathore (Deepika Padukone), Sartaj “Taj” Gill (Karan Singh Grover), Basheer “Bash” Khan (Akshay Oberoi) and others to take on a possible enemy attack on the Srinagar base camp. However, when Azhar Akhtar (Rishab Sawhney), an infamous Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist, carries out a deadly attack on CRPF soldiers, the Air Force is tasked with orchestrating a response.

Like the quintessential entertainer it is meant to be, the film serves up a little bit of everything in its narrative from action, drama, music, to romance, and even emotions. The screenplay makes room for every commercial film element, making it a perfect popcorn entertainer that plays to the gallery and lives up to the hype.

Given the scale of the film, Siddharth Anand doesn’t rush into the big action scenes. He spends most of the first half introducing us to the Air Force pilots. The 166-minute film, especially its first half, abounds in dogfights and daring air sorties designed to demonstrate the courage of the fighter pilots.

Taking several cues from the Top Gun films to lay the foundation for what becomes an engrossing story about valor, patriotism and celebrating the birds in the sky that protect our country. Though Patty and Minal are mostly the center focus of the story, it also spends enough time to showcase the enduring camaraderie between the team. Whether it’s the fun moments or the dramatic moments or the action, the whole team pitches in, and their bond is very believable.

To highlight the importance of equality in gender, Minal receives a nice little arc with her parents that gets a solid emotional payoff when Shamsher runs into them accidentally. This could be eye-rolling stuff, but it ends up proof that anything works when staged and played with conviction. Like many good commercial film it even takes care to differentiate between devout, patriotic Muslims and rogue agents who practice terrorism in the name of Islam.

Sure, it has its shortcomings, yet it keeps the audience engaged and absorbed. From the burnished opening shots of a Sukhoi 30 upside down, inches above the tarmac, to the interesting dog fights between India and Pakistan fighter jets that show tactical situations requiring the use of individual basic fighter maneuvers to attack or evade the opponents and also the helicopter stunts, the aerial combat scenes are far more exciting and captivating than that could have been expected from a Hindi film.

Offering impressive visual fidelity, the film seamlessly blending real-world air crafts with what must be computer-generated models in the trickier scenes. These scenes provide an immersive experience contributing to the storytelling.

But what helps the film most is the presence of Hrithik Roshan, whose is completely in his element playing a tailor-made role for him. He oozes classy stylishness in every frame even when he does nothing. Deepika Padukone is solid and completely at home in a predominantly man’s world. Their pairing is particularly winning. They not only look good as a pair, but also do justice to the characters when they are in uniform. There is a certain seriousness they bring to the table when they mean business.

Anil Kapoor‘s restraint adds a degree of gravitas to the proceedings, while Akshay Oberoi, Karan Singh Grover and Sanjeeda Shaikh provide the right support. As the antagonist, Rishabh Sawhney is sincere but falls short of being as dreaded as his character demands. On the whole, ‘Fighter’ is an entertaining affair that plays to the gallery and lives up to the hype.