Film: Sky Force

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Sharad Kelkar, Mohit Chauhan, Manish Chaudhari

Director: Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur

Producer: Jio Studios, Maddox Films

Rating: 4.5 Moons

Every once in a while, Bollywood comes out with a film that makes you want to stand when the end credits come up and applaud. ‘Sky Force’, which kick-starts 2025 for the struggling industry with a positive energy and promise of hope, is that kind of film. It has a patriotic flavour as well. Generous dollops of it without any chest-thumping and the tricolor being waved unnecessarily. And it could not have released at a better time than Republic Day weekend.

‘Sky Force’ is one of Bollywood’s finest war films. There’s nothing not to like in it. It is based on the 1965 Indo-Pak War and is an Air Force story. Which carries onto the 1971 war India fought against Pakistan to liberate and form Bangladesh. And concludes on an emotional note in the late 1980s with the IAF hero of 1965 being posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, which is India’s second highest military decoration, for extraordinary bravery in an aerial fight against the enemy.

This standout hero is debutant Veer Pahariya who plays Squadron Leader “Tabby” Vijaya. A role characterized on IAF’s real life fighter pilot Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya who, in a smaller, slower and far less powerful Mystere aircraft engaged Pakistan’s F104 Starfighter which was the most advanced warplane of the time, and saved the rest of his No. 1 Tigers Squadron which was on a strike mission against Pakistan’s Sargodha air base. Veer will turn out to be a Bharat ke Veer, he plays the daredevil IAF braveheart with ease.

Tabby’s hero is Wing Commander K. O. Ahuja (another 1965 IAF war hero by the real name of O. P. Taneja) who leads the Tigers in song, dance and at war like a loving but stern and no-nonsense elder brother. Akshay Kumar is this gritty IAF veteran better perhaps than even the real Mr. Ahuja might have been. He is intense at peace, fiercely focused during war, and heart achingly emotional in the second half when he goes against the IAF and Defence Ministry to get Tabby declared a hero and not a deserter.

‘Sky Force’ at 125 minutes is a slick and realistically-filmed action drama. The aerial warfare is of the breathtaking, edge-of-the-seat ‘Top Gun’ kind and the cinematography by S. K. Ravichandran gives it that edge. Music by Tanishk Bagchi is the soul of the film and the songs, ‘Maaye’ by B. Praak and ‘Kya Meri Yaad Aati Hai’ by Vishal Mishra, are Bollywood’s anthems to 1965’s fallen and forgotten heroes. Lata Mangeshkar’s timeless ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ comes up at the end and it still gives goosebumps.

This is one of Akshay Kumar’s finest performances. No actor carries off a defence forces uniform with his chutzpah. His anger is meditative silence. His action is poetry in motion. On ground and in the air. Veer Pahariya is Bollywood’s new discovery. A director’s actor who will go places. He plays the sacrificial hero with heartfelt stoicism. ‘Sky Force’ lacks romance and Nimrat Kaur and Sara Ali Khan flit in and out without making an impact. But the film does. It will make you cry. Watch it this Republic Day.