Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, Rishabh Sawhney, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Talaz Aziz, Banveen Singh, Mahesh Shetty
Director: Siddharth Anand
This so-called aerial thriller, now streaming on Netflix, comes packed with all the tropes associated with a patriotic Bollywood action drama.
Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania, codename Patty (Roshan), is a daredevil Indian Air Force pilot parachuted in along with an elite unit to be stationed in the hills of Kashmir along with a glamorous fellow Squadron Leader, Minal/Mini Rathore (Padukone). The sophisticated flying squad made up of Squadron Leaders Sartaj/Taj Gill (Grover), Basheer/Bash Khan (Oberoi), Rajan/Unni Unnithan (Shetty) and Sukhdeep/Sukhi Singh (Singh) are under the command of Group Captain Rakesh/Rocky Jaisingh (Kapoor).
While his teammates are adequately in awe of Patty’s death-defying airborne stunts, Rocky as their boss is visibly irked by this constant display of reckless antics by an obviously talented pilot. His first command for the special unit is to bond with each other as they are prepped for their counter-terrorism mission because when it comes to war with neighbouring Pakistan, it is their unity that will ensure they have each other’s backs at all times.
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The bonding certainly goes well, with the chemistry between Patty and Mini for all to see. However, nursing a broken heart from the tragedy of losing his fellow Air Force pilot fiancée, Patty seems hesitant to take the romantic plunge a second time around.
A botched rescue mission during a terrorist strike by the notorious Azhar Akhtar (Sawhney) cuts this budding love affair brutally short as Patty is transferred out of the unit for disobeying orders. With the life of two of his teammates hanging in the balance across the border, Patty is forced to contemplate quitting the Air Force altogether. Will Rocky be able to trust in the abilities of his best fighter pilot once again or will the unit be left to fend for itself in the face of a brutal enemy strike without Patty?
As with some of his other pacy thrillers such as ‘Pathaan’, director Siddharth Anand delivers some well-crafted direction in this airborne drama. Hrithik Roshan, with his perfectly sculpted abs, is the perfect fit for the role of a daring fighter pilot. Deepika Padukone, a match in the well sculpted department, is a perfect match as the no-nonsense officer out to prove that women can not only fly but also perform stunts in the air.
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Somehow, while all the ingredients are peppered in, there is something missing in this jingoistic ride complete with several one-liners in praise of Mother India and a rather cardboard cut-out Pakistani villain. The romance between the lead pair never quite hots up and neither do the attempts at creating some suspense around a double agent.
Overall, ‘Fighter’ makes a pleasant enough watch especially for fans of the lead actors but if flying stunts aren’t really your thing, this one may feel like quite a drag.
