Fighter’s trailer is one of the most misleading that I’ve seen in a while. As exciting and effervescent as Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan’s on-screen chemistry looked, the blatant jingoism and uncomfortable politics made me squirm. So I entered the theatre today apprehensive, weary.
But however desperate their posturing, there is nothing that a filmmaker irrevocably smitten with his hero cannot do. If you thought Roshan’s entry in War (2019) was the ultimate benchmark of a director fanboying, you need to experience how Siddharth Anand presents his main man in Fighter.
If this is not love, I don’t know what is.
It is such formidable director-actor love stories that have given Hindi cinema some of its most memorable films. Would Rajesh Khanna be the superstar that we remember him as today without Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Shakti Samanta? Yash Chopra and Karan Johar have played a crucial role in making Shah Rukh Khan the undisputed king of romance. Usually, high-octane, hyper-nationalistic spectacle movies are so consumed by action and thrill, that they leave little room for anything else. Mercifully, Fighter isn’t as empty or superficial as Anand’s last blockbuster Pathaan (2023). Widely mocked as a cheap version of Tom Cruise’s Top Gun post its trailer release, it has some breath-taking mid-air action sequences that could give the most slick Hollywood flicks a good run for their money. Amid all the hyperbole and too-muchness, it also surprisingly finds ample room for quieter moments. It cares enough to make a case for women in largely male-dominated professions, reminding us yet again that “Hunar ka koi gender nahi hota,” the now-viral dialogue from Johar’s mega-hit Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. More importantly, Fighter takes time to brew backstories and interpersonal relationships. So, when they are targeted, it hits hard. Roshan is Shamsher Pathania (Patty), a star Indian Air Force fighter pilot too confident in his aviation skills. Haunted by his past, he is quick to disobey and easy to feel guilty. He is thrown in with a bunch of aviators equally competent — Minal Rathore/Minni (Padukone), Sartaj/Taj Gill (Karan Singh Grover), and Basheer/ Bash Khan (a charming Akshay Oberoi) for a new, handpicked response team. A crisp and commanding Rakesh Jai Singh/Rocky (Anil Kapoor) is their group captain. Each time this lot is together, they light up the screen and create some of the film’s best moments. As expected, Roshan and Padukone are fire together. It still amazes me how it took this long to get them together. I also loved how, after working in television for years, Singh Grover and Sanjeeda Sheikh have finally found their way to the big screen, further dismantling the glass ceiling. Can we have more of this, please? All kinds of actors everywhere. Fighter could easily have been one of the finest films in its overcrowded genre but unlike its lead characters, it chooses the comfort of predictability over the audacity of brilliance. Pakistan, of course, is the villain. I understand the temptation but there are over 190 other countries. Can we please, for the sheer sake of diversity, move on? Anand tries hard to make his antagonist look evil; Rishabh Sawhney is effective as the Lashkar epicenter Azhar Akhtar—hulking, long-haired, gravelly voiced, one eye bloodshot.
But when Hrithik Roshan is your hero, your bad guy needs to be just as towering. There’s a reason why Sanjay Dutt’s Kancha Cheena, Rishi Kapoor’s Rauf Lala (Agneepath), Roshan’s Vedha (Vikram Vedha) and John Abraham’s Kabir (Dhoom) or Jim (Pathaan) are seared in audience memory. Azhar Akhtar will not be one of them. You’re likely to forget him the minute you step out of the theatre. Then there’s the predictability of the plot. You’re always multiple strides ahead. When Patty is banished, you know he will make a comeback and it will be glorious. When Minni talks about her thorny equation with her parents, you know they’ll reconcile. You know someone important will die. You know that despite all odds, Patty will find redemption across all spheres.
Finally, the songs. If you thought Pathaan’s Besharam Rang sounded and felt a lot like War’s Ghungroo, Fighter’s Ishq Jaisa Kuch is just another version. As for Sher Khul Gaye’s lyrics and choreography, the less is said, the better.
As rousing as it is, Sanchit-Ankit Balhara’s background score does exactly what it shouldn’t—dictate how to feel. Fighter is an absolute tear-jerker. It knows when to press which buttons and to what extent to elicit the kind of response it wants from you. If you’re planning to watch it in the theatre, keep tissues handy.
Anand’s recent actioners have been so dizzyingly successful, that he’s almost templatised the format. It makes me wistful of his good old rom-com days. Is it too late to make one of those again? Has he come too far?
(Edited by : Anand Singha)
