The
nationalism
of
Sky
Force
is
low
key
—
which
is
its
weakness,
as
well
as
its
strength
—
and
it
does
not
manipulate
the
audience
into
a
pre-decided
hate-the-enemy
response,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
A
year
ago,
Fighter
released
during
Republic
Day.
The
Top
Gun-inspired
movie
used
real
incidents
to
let
loose
Air
Force
planes
and
star
glamour
on
the
screen.
This
year,
with
Sky
Force,
it’s
more
of
the
same,
with
the
jingoism
considerably
toned
down
and
the
idea
of
honour
among
enemies
brought
up.
Sky
Force,
directed
by
Sandeep
Kewlani
and
Abhishek
Anil
Kapur
is
also
set
on
an
Indian
Air
Force
base,
and
there’s
the
usual
slow
motion
swaggering
to
the
fighter
planes.
Since
so
many
of
the
more
recent
surgical
strikes
against
Pakistan
and
the
1971
War
have
been
used
extensively
in
Hindi
films
and
Web
shows,
this
film
goes
back
to
the
1965
War
against
Pakistan,
which
had
been
won
mainly
because
of
the
crippling
air
strike
against
Pakistan’s
Sargodha
air
base.
This
was
a
difficult
mission
because
this
target
was
far
from
the
border,
and
it
was
only
the
superior
skill
of
Indian
pilots
that
overcame
the
shortcoming
of
the
inferior
aircrafts
they
were
flying.
Wing
Commander
KO
Ahuja
(Akshay
Kumar)
has
a
team
of
young
gung
ho
pilots
under
his
command
—
all
given
cute
animal
code
names
(Tiger,
Bull,
Cockroach
etc.)
but
no
time
is
spent
showing
any
special
bonding.
Ahuja
does
have
a
favourite
though,
T
Vijaya
‘Tabby’
(Veer
Pahariya).
His
wife
(Nimrat
Kaur)
has
a
warm
relationship
with
the
younger
man’s
wife,
Geeta
(Sara
Ali
Khan).
The
men
fly
on
difficult
sorties
and
have
dog
fights
in
the
air
for
training.
But
when
their
base
is
attacked,
it
is
time
to
hit
back.
The
Sargodha
mission
is
a
success
but
the
film
is
just
half
way
through.
Tabby,
who
had
been
left
on
standby,
joined
the
mission
against
orders
and
went
missing
behind
enemy
lines.
It
has
already
been
established
in
an
earlier
recce
mission
that
he
is
a
fearless
hothead.
In
keeping
with
the
motto
of
never
leaving
anyone
behind,
Ahuja
pursues
the
matter
for
years,
but
this
is
not
Saving
Private
Ryan.
The
film
has
a
matter-of-fact
tone,
and
what
little
theatrics
the
script
comes
up
with
can
be
seen
in
the
promo.
Watching
the
daredevilry
of
computer
generated
planes
is
all
very
well,
what
the
film
lacks
is
an
emotional
quotient.
When
it
does
arrive,
the
catalyst
is,
surprisingly,
a
Pakistani
pilot
(Sharad
Kelkar).
When
most
patriotic
films
have
some
degree
of
political
chest
thumping,
this
one
sneaks
in
criticism
of
the
government
then,
which
let
pilots
go
into
battle
with
outdated
planes
and
dragged
its
bureaucratic
feet
when
quick
action
was
required.
The
ghus
ke
marenge
kind
of
belligerent
rhetoric
is
a
relatively
recent
phenomenon
on
screen.
The
nationalism
of
Sky
Force
is
low
key
—
which
is
its
weakness,
as
well
as
its
strength
—
and
it
does
not
manipulate
the
audience
into
a
pre-decided
hate-the-enemy
response.
This
particular
episode
is
significant
because
Tabby’s
reckless
action
changed
aviation
history,
the
how
is
explained
at
a
later
point.
Akshay
Kumar
could
do
this
role
in
his
sleep.
Debutant
actor
Veer
Pahariya
(styled
to
look
like
Virat
Kohli)
is
not
given
much
to
do
because
the
film,
like
so
many
Akshay
Kumar
movies,
is
a
one-man
show.
Sky
Force
Review
Rediff
Rating:
