Sky Force

However, in Sky Force, they have somewhat deviated from the path. Here the star of the story is Mahavir Chakra Awardee Devaiah, fictionalised as Krishna Vijayan (played by newcomer Veer Pahariya). He is the ‘rebel’, the nonconformist in the force who was denied his name in the history books for more than two decades because of circumstances and official apathy. The character makes for a more colourful and nuanced central protagonist than Vir Chakra awardee Wing Commander O.P Taneja fictionalised as Kumar Om Ahuja, performed by Akshay Kumar with his trademark zeal, which turns out to be misplaced in the context of the film. Like the fictional name combines the star’s real and on-screen identity, the film’s gaze is tilted toward Akshay, making the storytelling and the emotional experience incongruous.

Relegated to an adoring sidekick, Vijaya is further undermined when his courage is attributed to a hot tip from Ahuja. All that can be said about Veer Pahariya’s performance is that anybody else could have played Vijaya. The women – Sara Ali Khan as Geeta, Nimrat Kaur as Ahuja’s wife – are entirely disposable. Sharad Kelkar has a neat cameo as Ahmed, a Pakistani pilot who helps clear up the mystery of Vijaya’s fate. The mutual respect between Ahuja and Ahmed despite the war between their countries softens the film’s insistent tenor. In these scenes as well as in the aerial set pieces, there are flashes of what works for Sky Force – the sense of a code of honour and military values that go beyond politics or diplomacy. Unfortunately, what should have been jettisoned, like fuel during an emergency, is what constitutes the bulk of the plot. By flying into different directions at the same time, Sky Force does itself a disservice.