Based on a true set of incidents, the beats of Sky Force are pretty familiar that are epitomized with its theme highlighting the strained relationship between Post Independent India and its neighbour who have been at loggerheads with each other since. The little background of the wars stalls in 1971 wherein you are witness to a combat mission that ends with the capture of a prisoner in war. A small exchange reveals an extended flashback that dates itself to 1965, the previous occasion that marked a clash between India and its neighbour, Pakistan. The setup of events in the flying academy/base is similar to that of Fighter(2024), but the soul of SkyForce is starkly different from the former. While the core of Fighter was the camaraderie that the group of fighter pilots shared with each other, Sky Force focuses on the relationship between Ahuja ‘Tiger’ (Akshay Kumar) and Vijaya ‘Tabby’ (Veer Pahariya). Their relationship extends outside their work environment too – Tiger sees his little brother in Tabby who had lost his life whilst on duty, so much so that he has no qualms of inviting him and his pregnant wife to his home. Yes, Tabby is rebellious and often shown to be pushing his boundaries at work but it is Tiger who always has his back.

One small fleck of criticism that I had with the drama was that the film lacked an emotional connect with respect to the families of the characters concerned. And this did stem from the fact that the writing had an unwavering focus on events unfolding at the flying base who does cater to a variety of activities against the backdrop of the war. Luckily, the planning and execution of the recce events along with the right use of technical jargons is enough to engage you in the drama that doesn’t necessarily resort to jingoism in any way. In fact, the politics addressed in the drama is an extension of the bureaucratic stance that India has maintained in the Geo-political setup even today – we won’t take the first step. This though, is a trigger for an entire sequence going in a near-fatal manner, until it isn’t before a counter-attack that transpires, against the backdrop of a B-Praak number. Familiar beats yes, but still very engaging.

One of the interesting character remains Tiger through and through who eventually takes centerstage after an interesting halfway mark that sees Tabby being reduced to a backup. It was almost like Yashasvi Jaiswal almost guaranteed a slot on the bench even as the rest of the team makes it to the eleven. And just when you expect that the entire second hour will be dedicated to an extended counter-attack sequence (with the tagline, India Andar Ghus Ke Maarega…tch tch), the story revolves around Tiger who transforms into a fulcrum that further grounds this tale. On one end, he is seen consoling Tabby’s wife who has delivered a baby girl and on the other end his search for Tabby continues, which doesn’t include taking law into his own hands and going across the border, but a more grounded path of pushing his case with the bureaucrats (doubling up as a littke commentary of sorts). In this phase, you are also witness to a little dignified camaraderie with Ahmed (Sharad Kelkar) who seems to hold a secret while being duty-bound for his country (Pakistan). There is genuinely a dignified approach to storytelling in a genre that is designed to be jingoistic in every sense.

The shift from a high-octane actioner to a human story is evident given how the investigative procedural is systematic, and doesn’t resolve itself in a period of days. In fact, the drama spans over years of longing to eventually reach its conclusion – a little drawback being that the events leading up to the finale are passed off as a homage in order to keep pace with its tight runtime. But the reveal, although on expected lines is a good one while enforcing you with the spirit of patriotism in balanced measures, while mildly scoring with the human emotions at the end too. This was a refreshing angle given its dignified approach that did not lower the stature of any of its stakeholders in particular, while delivering an emotionally heavy finale that definitely tugs you with its string of emotions. What seemed like a rip-off of Fighter to begin with turned out to be a better product in the process!