Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Akshay Oberoi, Karan Singh Grover, and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 2.5 stars
Filmmaker Siddharth Anand attempts to make a film on the national sentiment keeping the Indian Air Force as a backdrop that is rare but more than an out-and-out patriotic film, Fighter is a line-up of Hrithik Roshan’s heroism, good looks, sugar-coated romance with his co-pilot, obviously great dance, and some evoking one-liners.
Siddharth hasn’t touched any historical event except for the 2019 Balakot airstrike but rather made a fictional tale of valour, friendship, interpersonal tensions amongst the core characters, a sprinkle of patriarchy, and a convenient closure to all of the above. And, not to miss a passionate kiss in the predictable and celebratory climax.
Shamsher Pathania, fondly called Shammi/Patty (Hrithik Roshan) is grieved by his bitter past of losing his fiancée Naina Jaisingh— NJ in a failed air strike and in no mood to return until he meets Minal Rathore— Minni (Deepika Padukone), a co-pilot at Srinagar Air Base. The two along with Basheer (Akshay Oberoi), and Sartaj (Karan Singh Grover) are a part of Air Dragons led by Rakesh Jai Singh - Rocky (Anil Kapoor).
Enter the villain, Rishabh Sawhney, who has been established as a ruthless antagonist with long hair, muscular body, a red eye, and couple of facial scars. And of course, he bashes almost everyone only to get defeated by our hero Patty.
Siddharth’s last release Pathaan had Shah Rukh Khan’s heroic spirit and in Fighter, besides Hrithik’s good looks, it has a tighter screenplay too. His second half is better and is laced with everything one would expect in a full-on mass entertainer— but why tout it as a patriotic film in this case?
Seeti-maar dialogues are a highlight, and only a few filmmakers have tried making a film around IAF, the life around pilots, their ground and air operations, etc. But, good versus evil is what Fighter sails on. Siddharth might have gotten bored himself on witnessing real-life events or rising heroes in films and hence refrained himself indulging in one.
Hrithik looks confident with his aging looks, certainly, his physicality suited the role and so does Deepika. Akshay and Karan are at par with the lead characters in every possible way, be it acting or screen time— sigh of relief. Anil Kapoor is good as usual. Newbie Rishabh is watchable especially since his voice is noteworthy if it’s not dubbed.
Fighter has songs, drama, slo-mo entries, and great-looking people in uniforms. You may take off once with all of it unless you are only expecting an Indo-Pak face-off. And, hey, don’t forget to pack some popcorn, soft drinks, and hot samosas to binge up in the air. It is a damn GLOSSY affair!
