Fighter (2024) Movie Review: A Siddharth Anand Masterpiece

Siddharth Anand's directorial aerial action thriller, Fighter, starring Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, & Rishabh Sawhney, was released in theaters on 25th January 2024. Fighter marks Hrithik Roshan’s 7th film, Deepika Padukone’s 9th film, and Siddharth Anand’s 4th film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark at the box office. The film has managed to surpass the Rs 150 crore mark at the box office after 10 days since its release.

The narrative tells us about Group Captain Rakesh “Rocky” Jai Singh (Anil Kapoor), who leads a team including Squadron Leader Shamsher Patty Pathiana (Hrithik Roshan), Squadron Leader Minni Rathore (Deepika Padukone), Squadron Leader Sartaj Gill (Karan Singh Grover), & Squadron Leader Basheer Khan (Akshay Oberoi), forming a quick-response team in Srinagar.

Azhar Akhtar (Rishabh Sawhney), a terrorist, planned and executed the Pulwama attack with the help of Pakistan in 2019, resulting in the deaths of 40 Indian military police. In response, the Indian Air Force successfully executed the Balakot airstrike. To retaliate, the Pakistani Air Force plans another attack on an Indian Air Base, leading to Taj and Bash's capture by Pakistan. Will Patty & his team be able to safely bring back Taj and Bash to India?

If you ask me to name a director who has utilized Hrithik Roshan to his fullest potential in recent years, it is Siddharth Anand without a doubt. Anand made his first collaboration with Hrithik Roshan in "Bang Bang" in 2014, and in the last 10 years, out of his 4 directorial films, he collaborated thrice with Hrithik Roshan, except for Pathaan, where Shah Rukh Khan showcased his magic.

Siddharth Anand has a keen sense of executing action films to the best possible standard, and the action thriller Fighter is the epitome of his prowess. With visually appealing action sequences, emotional depth, impactful dialogues, and patriotism, it offers a paisa-vasool cinematic experience.

Hrithik Roshan as Patty delivers an outstanding performance in this film, utilizing his maximum screen time perfectly across various dimensions: from his dialogues in front of Mini’s parents to his interactions with Anil Kapoor, his climax fight with the antagonist, his dance, and his scenes with Deepika Padukone, all stand out as major highlights.

Anil Kapoor, who recently impressed in Animal, delivers a top-notch performance as Group Captain Rakesh “Rocky” Jai Singh. His dedication to work, bond with the team, and strictness as a leader are brilliantly portrayed.

Deepika Padukone as Mini delivers a convincing performance, but she appears somewhat underutilized here. Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, & Rishabh Sawhney provide good contributions with their respective performances.

The film is loosely inspired by Top Gun, but I feel that Siddharth Anand should have given a bit more focus to the script. He should consider this now, especially since he has already planned Fighter 2. If he can develop a better script, we will certainly experience something very different, bigger, and unique in the sequel to this film.

The depiction of the conflict with Pakistan appears overly repetitive and prevalent in the scripts of many recent Bollywood action films, spanning the past two to three decades. Pathaan, Tiger 3, and Gadar 2 also center around the conflict against Pakistan, while only Jawan presents a different plot without the Pakistan angle.

This is where I believe the writers should invest more time in introducing uniqueness to the plot so that audiences do not perceive every action film as delivering the same narrative every time.

Trailer:


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