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Like in previous years, Bollywood comes up with yet another patriotic movie during one of India’s major national festivals and this one was Sky Force. A real-life account of an operation during 1965 Indo-Pak war, the film forms an action-packed aerial saga backed with nostalgic mode of IAF heroism. But, unfortunately, the plot that has so much potential looks more like it has been deliberately directed to focus on Akshay Kumar more than giving the character Veer Pahariya its due credit.
Sky Force: A Tale of Unsung Heroism
Largely based on a true story of Operation, ’Bsteen’ of Indo-Pak war 65-66 where IAF carried out an attack on modified American jets at Sargodha airbase in Pakistan. The main protagonist lies in an unremarkable and fearless pilot T. Vijaya reflecting the story of the real-life hero AB Devayya who against all the odds ignored orders and tried to save other people’s lives. This act of courage and skill cements his place in history as an unsung legend of the Indian Air Force.
The set have all the trappings of a good war story, however, the movie fails to fully exploit the material. Again, it seems the issue is not with the telling of the story; it is in the way it is being done.
The Akshay Kumar Conundrum: Overshadowing the Real Hero
Popular actor Khiladi Kumar Akshay Kumar is traveling all the way from Bollywood to play the character Wing Commander K.O. Ahuja which is inspired by OP Taneja. A character as stylized as Kumar’s would actually be fine but the entire vest is built around him and consequently, Pahariya’s T. Vijaya got lost in all this.
Promising aviator, who is the protagonist of the narrative built around the film, can be seen as an agent incidental at times. They fail to emphasize Vijaya’s bravery and the inexhaustible courage she had to put in her service, but with Ahuja’s character, they go out of their way constantly trying to bring him more focus with an additional side-story of him looking for a missing pilot during the war. While Ahuja’s efforts are undoubtedly commendable, they come at the expense of the film’s emotional core: the heroism of Vijaya.
Veer Pahariya’s Promising Debut
Veer Paharia in the first lead role that he has undertaken, has done a good job. He completely depicts the dignity and fragility of T. Vijaya with ease. Unfortunately, the film does not give him much space which reduces this role’s portrayal by this actor to be quite marginal.
This is a missed opportunity because the story of Vijaya is a story that should be told on its own. His violations of the direct orders to ferry a afflicted plane and his brave act of rescuing his buddies’ lives can have been a full length movie. Still, Sky Force brings him to the background, and thus the audience has fewer opportunities to get emotionally engaged in the character.
Nostalgia Meets Patriotic Action
What can be said Sky Force is good in some aspects. The actual formations of planes and the aerial battles resemble a combat and have a suspense look at what goes on in the dog fights. Thanks to the visual effects and a growing background music arrangement there are cinematic moments. The film also does as well as a fair job of not going overboard in the patriotic department something that most patriotic films are guilty of.
I thought Sharad Kelkar’s acting as a captured Pakistani pilot gave yet another dimension to the story. Instead of making him the broad-stroke cartoon bad guy who lives only to inflict evil on others, his actions have a nuance that still respects that common bond of humanity that connects us all – love for family, and personal honor. This portrayal is realistic and much appreciated as it brings out the grey area to the movie.
Where the Film Falls Short
It is for these reasons, however that Sky Force fails on aspects such as flow and character progression. The movie starts with Ahuja grilling the Pakistani pilot in 1971, and then employs copious amounts of flashback to depict the events of the 1965 war. The toing and froing prove eventually to be counterproductive vis-à-vis smooth and steady progression in terms of the plot fabric and also blunts the feeling of suspense that ought to have been the essence of the narrative.
Furthermore, they never get to expound on the actors’ performance because the camera focuses mostly on Akshay Kumar . It is disappointing to see Nimrat Kaur as the wife of Ahuja, equally so for Sara Ali Khan as the wife of Vijaya, they are just limited to being the wives. Their role or part in the movie is limited to mere reminding the audience that the pilots have families, or are married.
The Emotional Core: Brotherhood and Sacrifice
One of the film's most poignant moments comes from an unexpected source: a minor role before whose character the squadron show a more sentimental joshing in the beginning. His fate at the end of the play submits the valuable lesson of the soldiers’ camaraderie meaning the unity and the sacrifice. This moment is great, and raises the film to just about the level which could have been achieved if the filmmakers had not relied too heavily on a specific star.
A Missed Opportunity for Authentic Storytelling
In terms featuring, Sky Force could have been the then bold war film worshiping the tale of the unprecedented bravery of an unknown pilot and unearthing of of a section of India’s unknown military history. It doesn’t dare to take risk and follow its instincts, much less provide meaningful meat to its selected subject; it simply goes for the celebrities.
The character breathed life by Veer Pahariya, T. Vijaya should have got more screentime as well as should have been portrayed more in terms of narrative. There really is much that can be learned from him, his courage and even selflessness the things that people like to see in other people and get from a movie. Even with Akshay Kumar, it would have been more appropriate for the film to focus on him rather than the cause they moved to support.
Final Verdict
Sky Force is a visually rich but emotionally somewhat challenged picture. It has crafted some clichéd scenes but worthy of honorable mention are the flight scenes and brotherhood of pilots. But there is a missed opportunity here to get fully behind the heroics of T. Vijaya.
Still, if Akshay Kumar does a decent job, it is Veer Pahariya who shines bright even if he is not on screen for too long. His debut offers some potential and you hope that other projects let him reveal his potential.
