Opinion What ‘Fighter’, released on R-Day, says about its audience

The movie is another in a long list of war films that build a case for violence, revenge and aggression

Fictionalising the events around the 2019 Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force, Fighter is set among a bunch of IAF pilots that include the stylish Shamsher Pathania “Patty” (Hrithik Roshan) and Minal Rathore “Minnie” (Deepika Padukone) among others.

Aakshi Magazine

January 30, 2024 09:45 AM IST First published on: Jan 27, 2024 at 04:53 PM IST

Fighter is Bollywood’s Republic-Day release on a Republic Day that did not feel like one. On the drive to Central Delhi where I saw the Siddharth Anand-directed film on January 26, the tricolour was less visible than the rows and rows of saffron flags. The latter were everywhere, announcing their presence aggressively. Walking around Connaught Place, I looked for the Indian flag and barely found it. For those of us brought up on a healthy dose of scepticism towards overt displays of national symbols, this is perhaps the first time in our adult lives that spotting the Indian flag felt like an assurance.

Eventually, I found a flag — in the film. An extended sequence with a looming tricolour, meant to invite applause and awe. In itself, the moment appeared surprisingly old-fashioned and out-of-touch with the immediate world outside the theatre. Soon, though, conventional jingoism followed. Fictionalising the events around the 2019 Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force, Fighter is set among a bunch of IAF pilots that include the stylish Shamsher Pathania “Patty” (Hrithik Roshan) and Minal Rathore “Minnie” (Deepika Padukone) among others. In contrast, the Pakistani characters look like stereotypes that came to life. Their dialogues, motivation and styling are as unimaginative as they are stale.

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Not surprisingly perhaps, the tricolour scene is a set-up for a brutal massacre of CRPF jawans that follows, inspired by the 2019 Pulwama attack. That is its use in the film. As the film revealed the scale of the number of deaths, the people sitting behind me in the theatre were very vocal in their expressions of shock. The narrative was building a case for the aggression that is required to put Pakistan “in its place” — show them who the baap (father) is, goes one dialogue — and it seemed to be working. The logic is that the memory of the massacre would ensure that no remorse is felt. That we will “enjoy” the brutal bombing of the enemy that is to follow even more. Truly, we get the films we deserve.

Also Read | Fighter movie review: Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone make this drama-in-the-sky soar, jingoism pulls it down

The hyper-masculine action film, with its obsession with fathers and enemies and often traitors, even when professing better politics like Jawan or Anand’s previous Pathaan, is an inherently limited genre. It is also a limiting genre colonising our ideas of what an entertaining film looks and feels like. Fighter, which is also a war film, appears more calculative. There is an old-style “good” Indian Muslim character whose sacrifice seems to be necessary to establish his loyalty. Would he otherwise always be under suspicion? (the running couplet about the flag being the most beautiful kafan/shroud is strategically placed). There is a sub-plot of gender disparity to remind us that casting Deepika Padukone as a fighter plane pilot is a statement of progressive politics. There are some dialogues about making a distinction between the Pakistani state and its people. None of this can hide the film’s hollowness as it builds a case for violence, revenge and aggression. So what if it tries to do it stylishly?

Also Read | Siddharth Anand says Fighter dialogues viewed ‘out of context’ as Pak actors slam trailer of Hrithik Roshan starrer: ‘Bharat ki picture hai ye’

There is one moment though which stood out. The arrogant Patty struggles with reconciling personal ambition with his team’s interests. He is now demoted to the role of a trainer in a local Air Force academy. On the first day, he saves the life of a student and guides her to safety. This is the opposite of what he has been doing till then. It is a moment when he is not at the centre of the action but his presence is meaningful. There is a hint of a different kind of purpose and fulfilment. This is a brief, muted, inward-looking moment, but soon the film takes over with its dangerous claims about winning the war being more important than playing by the rules. Earlier, it claimed that revenge and justice are the same thing. Perhaps, the film forgot that the world does not need this lesson. It has enough of it already.

The writer is a film scholar and critic based in Delhi