Fighter is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Siddharth Anand, based on a story he wrote with Ramon Chibb. Produced by Viacom18 Studios and Marflix Pictures, it stars Anil Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone as main characters. The film is the first chapter in a planned aerial action franchise.
The film was announced on 10 January 2021, marking Anand’s directorial debut and his third collaboration with Roshan after Bang Bang! (2014) and War (2019). The pre-production was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming began in November 2022 with places such as Assam, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai. Real life Indian Air Force personnel worked in the film, which finished up in October 2023. The film has links to 2019 Pulwama attack, 2019 Balakot airstrike and 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes.[8][9] The film’s soundtrack record composed by Vishal–Shekhar consists of five songs. Satchith Paulose serves as the film’s photographer. The visual effects are performed by DNEG.
Fighter was originally planned for a theatrical release on 30 September 2022 but production delays caused the release date to slip to 25 January 2024, coinciding with the Republic Day weekend. Despite mixed reception, it earned ₹211.50 crore (US$25 million) nett in India and ₹337.2 crore (US$40 million) worldwide to rank as the second highest-grossing Indian film of 2024 and highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024.
| Fighter | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Siddharth Anand |
| Story by | Ramon Chibb Siddharth Anand |
| Screenplay by | Ramon Chibb |
| Dialogues by | Hussain Dalal Abbas Dalal Biswapati Sarkar |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Satchith Paulose |
| Edited by | Aarif Sheikh |
| Music by |
|
|
Production
companies |
|
| Distributed by | Viacom18 Studios |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
166 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹250 crore |
| Box office | est. ₹337.2 crore |
Plot
In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, a terrorist group led by Azhar Akhtar plans to attack India, targeting the Srinagar Air Force Station base of the Indian Air Force.
Group captain Rakesh “Rocky” Jai Singh is assigned to counter the threat and forms a team called “Air Dragons” made of skilled fighter pilots. The team includes unit leaders Shamsher “Patty” Pathania, Minal “Minni” Rathore, Sartaj “Taj” Gill, Basheer “Bash” Khan, and Sukhdeep “Sukhi” Singh. During training, the team members bond, and Minni develops love feelings for Patty. However, Patty is haunted by his past after he lost his fiancée in a previous task. The team learn of an attack on CRPF troops in Pulwama, organized by Akhtar.
In reaction, the Indian Air Force, along with RAW agent Zarina Begum, plan a counterattack on Akhtar’s base in Balakot. Despite succeeding in the task, the aftermath causes conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Air Force starts a retaliatory attack on the Indian base as a result. Despite Rocky’s orders, Patty, Taj, and Bash cross the Indo-Pakistan line. Taj’s and Bash’s planes are shot down by Pakistani pilots, leading to them getting caught. Patty is pulled from the team of Air Dragons by Rocky following a court of Inquiry. He is posted as a flying teacher at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad. It is told to Minni by Rocky that he holds a grudge against Patty for letting his fiancée, Naina Jai Singh (revealed to be Rocky’s younger sister), die in a previous rescue mission.
The Pakistani government says that they will be escorting Taj and Bash safely back to India. However, the Air Dragons team gets a shock as the chopper, which had gone to receive Taj and Bash, returns only with Bash’s dead body. Sukhi tells Patty that Bash was brutally killed by Akhtar and has imprisoned a badly injured Taj. Determined to rescue him, Patty breaks orders and joins a covert mission. The team successfully infiltrates the enemy area and Patty is able to rescue Taj and kill Akhtar. In the post-credit scene, Minni and Patty embrace, celebrating their win.
Cast
- Hrithik Roshan as Squadron Leader Shamsher “Patty” Pathania (Shammi)
- Deepika Padukone as Squadron Leader Minal “Minni” Rathore
- Anil Kapoor as Group Captain Rakesh “Rocky” Jaisingh
- Karan Singh Grover as Squadron Leader Sartaj “Taj” Gill
- Akshay Oberoi as Squadron Leader Basheer “Bash” Khan
- Rishabh Sawhney as Azhar Akhtar
- Sanjeeda Sheikh as Saachi Gill, Taj’s wife
- Ashutosh Rana as Abhijeet Rathore, Minni’s father (special appearance)
- Geeta Agrawal as Usha Rathore, Minni’s mother
- Talat Aziz as Mr. Pathania, Patty’s father
- Sharib Hashmi as Wing Commander Varthaman, Ilyushin Il-76 Pilot
- Ramon Chibb as Air Commodore Abhinder “Abhi” Bali, Chief Instructor, Air Force Academy
- Sanjeev Jaiswal as Majeed Khan
- Baveen Singh as Squadron Leader Sukhdeep “Sukhi” Singh
- Mahesh Shetty as Squadron Leader Rajan “Unni” Unnithan
- Seerat Mast as Squadron Leader Naina “Enjay” Jaisingh, Rocky’s sister and Patty’s ex-fiancée
- Nishan Khanduja as Flying Officer Manoj “Birdie” Bhardwaj
- Chandan K Anand as Wing Commander Harish “Nauty” Nautiyal
- Mushtaq Kak as Maqsood Abrar
- Vinay Varma as Air Commodore Debyajyoti “Debu” Biswas, Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station, Srinagar
- Lokesh Batta as Squadron Leader Sandeep “Sandy” Kumar
- Himani Sahani as Squadron Leader Tanya Aggarwal
- Harish Khatri as Prime Minister of India
- Chandra Shekhar Dutta as RAW agent Zarina Begum / Yafeth Salim
- Samvedna Suwalka as Bella Khan, Bash’s wife
- Geeta Sodhi as Mrs. Khan, Bash’s mother
- Gurmeet Chawla as Chief of the Air Staff
Production
Development
Fighter director Siddharth Anand in 2016
Siddharth Anand described the idea of making a big-budget action thriller against the backdrop of fighter jets while shooting the film War (2019). Hrithik Roshan loved the general premise of the story. During COVID-19 lockdown in India, Anand worked on developing the story further and told it to Roshan, who later confirmed for the film. In December 2020, it was stated that Siddharth Anand and Hrithik Roshan are going to reunite for a film after War (2019).
Fighter was formally announced on 10 January 2021, on the occasion of Hrithik Roshan’s birthday.The film is the India’s first flying action film. It is the first installment in its series.The film is created by Siddharth Anand, Mamta Anand, Ramon Chibb, Anku Pande, Kevin Vaz and Ajit Andhare, under banners Viacom18 Studios and Marflix Pictures. The film was made on a budget of ₹250 crore.
The film is intended for a global audience, and would involve the use of latest technology and filming techniques.
Casting
In January 2021, Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan were officially named as the leads marking their maiden film together. Roshan plays Patty, an air force officer. Roshan described his character as “young, spontaneous and short-tempered”. Padukone also plays an air force officer and has several action scenes in the film. Both Padukone and Roshan took martial arts training for their parts. Anil Kapoor joined the group in December 2021.Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi were roped in by November 2022. In March 2023, Talat Aziz joined the cast to play part of Patty’s father in the film. In May 2023, Sanjeeda Sheikh was confirmed to play a key part.
Marketing and release
Roshan and Padukone advertising the film in 2024
The teaser of the film was released on 8 December 2023.The original trailer of the film was released on 15 January 2024.
Fighter was released on 25 January 2024, aligning with the Republic Day. Earlier in January 2021, it was reported that the film was going to release on 30 September 2022.In October 2022, the release date was stated as 25 January 2024. The film was banned across the countries of the GCC.
.jpg)
Roshan and Padukone promoting the film in 2024
