If Hrithik Roshan’s presence is persuasive enough, the pass could be master
What one would at least expect from the first film in an intended franchise is freshness, if not exceptional originality. Let’s fly to great heights, warriorAn aerial action thriller directed and co-produced by Siddharth Anand (War, send), struggles to shake its flat trajectory.
For viewers, if you’re not a fan of Hrithik Roshan or an admirer of Bollywood’s take on the war film, the challenge is to fight the overwhelming ennui that sets in quickly and drags the film down with it. But if Hrithik’s presence is persuasive enough, warrior can submit But that’s about it.
Twenty years ago, Hrithik Roshan was Captain Karan Shergill, a drifter who found his purpose in life by joining the Indian Army. Five years ago, he donned the costume of Major Kabir Dhaliwal, a secret agent turned rogue. Now, he Squadron Leader Shamser Pathania, can quickly dive into difficult situations.
All the mentioned three are men of immense courage and self-confidence when the need arises to take the battle to the enemy camp. So, if you’ve seen one of them, the pilot starring the lead actor warrior Just an addition to a tribe stuck in a rut.
The actor’s Army/Intelligence/Air Force persona is steeped in monotony that stems from the names and attributes he assumes. He can perform feats that are out of the ordinary. The part though warrior Expressed in a realistic vein, the heroism of the male hero is defined by his omnipotent abilities.
He is a brave fighter pilot who flies into danger without batting an eye. He is a charmer who can talk two women into parting with their plates of biryani. After a mission is completed and an upbeat celebratory number sequences she can dance like a dream. And, when things get heated, he can jump into close quarters combat with villains.
The rank, outfit and mode of operation may change but the method does not. But needless to say how Bollywood stars work. Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania, a crack fighter pilot who believes he is a fighter first and a pilot second, powers Roshan Siddharth Anand’s first entry in what is proposed to be a series of Air Force action films.
It isn’t though Top Gun, Fighter An expertly mounted, shot and edited film. It will probably find the fans it’s looking for. However, even with Deepika Padukone adding to the star power quotient, the film feels empty and lackluster. The problem lies in its storyline – it’s a collection of clichés.
Above all it depends on the sharp blaster that offense is always the best form of defense, and that the best response to deception is immediate retaliation. It firmly identifies the fighter within the narrow framework within which Bollywood war films operate.
Here are known pieces of people. An air fighter is fighting a personal conflict. A senior Air Force pro focused on teamwork struggles to keep the young man on the job. A female fighter pilot is out to prove her and the rest of the world wrong against gender discrimination from her father. A terrorist king is determined to attack India’s defense installations.
Along the way, Pulwama, Balakot, Uri and Stone Throw are mentioned. All calculation results – and fronts – are predictable. Shamsher earns his second shot at redemption and inner peace, but not before he faces a series of disasters.
Squadron leader Minal Rathore (Deepika Padukone) finds the love of her life even as she takes to the skies against all odds. Group Captain Rakesh Jaisingh (Anil Kapoor) is a stickler for protocol who repeatedly shows why he is such a good leader. And the evil, big-talking terrorist, Azhar Akhtar (Rishabh Sahni) spews the poison and paves the way for the final extraction from across the border.
warrior It’s all about how these four characters get there in the end. The 166-minute film, especially in its first half, abounds in dogfights and daring air sorties designed to showcase the courage of the fighter pilots. Some of the action is quite impressive but none of it is likely to make you jump out of your seat with joy. There is nothing in the film that justifies its 3D format.
Screenplay by Ramon Chibb with Siddharth Anand, warrior Works best when it decides to tone it down a tad in the second half. Its emotional climax occurs when Samsh accidentally meets Minal’s father (Ashutosh Rana) and mother (Geeta Aggarwal) and proceeds to impress them with the enormity of their daughter’s achievements.
Bashir Khan (Akshay Oberoi) is among the pilots of the Air Dragon team formed after the terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in early 2019. He can deliver the film’s most patriotic lines – repeating a poignant and patriotic parable recited by Shamser early in the film.
warrior It is a story of enduring friendship between Shamser and his Air Force Academy batchmate Sartaj Gill (Karan Singh Grover). The relationship between the two fighter pilots and between Shams and Sartaj’s wife Sanchi (Sanjida Shaikh) forms the basis of the film’s climax. However, bromance is essentially a one-man affair. warrior This is Hrithik Roshan’s film and the screenplay never lets him out of sight.
The muted romance that blossoms between Nayak and Minal is set against the backdrop of a tragedy. It provides warrior It has some more believable moments as some breathing space is allowed for the exchanges between the two.
Hrithik Roshan tries his best to lift the film as high as possible. Deepika Padukone is strong and completely at home in a man’s world. Anil Kapoor’s restraint adds a dimension to the film. but warrior Could have done with a more menacing villain.
Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi mostly play roles that don’t exactly put them at the center of the film. Precisely in two scenes of Ashutosh Rana and Geeta Agrawal warrior And that’s all they need. They make an instant impression.
warrior Fairly observable. But with a little more imagination and a little less jingoism, it can be worrisome.
