Fighter is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Siddharth Anand, based on a story he wrote with Ramon Chibb. Produced under Viacom18 Studios and Marflix Pictures, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor in lead roles and serves as the first installment in a planned aerial action franchise.[4][5]
The film was announced on 10 January 2021. The pre-production was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Principal photography finally began in November 2022 with filming proceeding in various schedules across Assam, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai, and wrapped in late-October. Real life Indian Air Force cadets worked for the film.[6] The film has references to 2019 Pulwama attack, 2019 Balakot airstrike and 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes.[7][8] The film's soundtrack album composed by Vishal–Shekhar consists of five songs. Satchith Paulose serves as the film's cinematographer. The visual effects are handled by DNEG.
Fighter was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on 30 September 2023 but production delays caused the release date to slip to 25 January 2024, coinciding with the Republic Day weekend. The film received mixed reviews and has grossed Template:INRConvert worldwide to rank as the second highest-grossing Indian film of 2024.[3]
Plot[]
In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, a terrorist organization led by Azhar Akhtar, plan 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" consisting of skilled fighter pilots. The team includes Squadron 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 romantic feelings for Patty. However, Patty is haunted by his past after he lost his fiancée in a previous mission. The team learn of an attack on CRPF soldiers in Pulwama, organized by Akhtar.
In response, the Indian Air Force, along with RAW agent Zarina Begum, plan a counterattack on Akhtar's base in Balakot. Despite succeeding in the mission, the aftermath causes conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani Air Force launch a retaliatory attack on Indian base as a result. Despite Rocky's orders, Patty, Taj, and Bash cross the Indo-Pakistan border. Taj and Bash's plane is shot down by Pakistani pilots leading to them getting captured. Patty is suspended from the Air Dragons for disobeying orders and is placed as a flying instructor at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad. It is revealed 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 announce that they will be escorting Taj and Bash safely back to India. However, as the team wait for them to arrive, Sukhi tells Patty that Bash was brutally murdered by Akhtar and have imprisoned a badly injured Taj. Determined to rescue him, Patty defies orders and joins a covert mission. The team successfully infiltrate the enemy territory and Patty is able to rescue Taj and kill Akhtar. In the end, Minni and Patty embrace, celebrating their victory.
Cast[]
- Hrithik Roshan as Squadron Leader Shamsher "Patty" Pathania aka Shammi[9]
- Deepika Padukone as Squadron Leader Minal "Minni" Rathore[10]
- Anil Kapoor as Group Captain Rakesh "Rocky" Jaisingh[11]
- Karan Singh Grover as Squadron Leader Sartaj "Taj" Gill[12]
- Akshay Oberoi as Squadron Leader Basheer "Bash" Khan[13]
- Rishabh Sawhney as Azhar Akhtar
- Sanjeeda Sheikh as Saanchi 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 (character inspired from Abhinandan Varthaman)
- 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
- Harish Khatri as Prime Minister of India
- Ramon Chibb as Air Commodore Abhijeet "Abhi" Bali, IAF Academy Chief Instructor
- Chandra Shekhar Dutta as RAW agent Zarina Begum
- 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 narrated 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 basic premise of the story. During COVID-19 lockdown in India, Anand worked on developing the story further and narrated it to Roshan, who later confirmed for the film. In December 2020, it was reported that Siddharth Anand and Hrithik Roshan are going to reunite for a film after War (2019).[14]
TBA.
The film is designed for a global audience, and would involve the use of latest technology and filming techniques.[15]
Pre-production[]
TBA.
Real-life Indian Air Force cadets have worked for the film. They were flown in from the air force headquarters in Delhi and Dundigal Air Force Academy near Hyderabad.[16]
Casting[]
TBA.
Filming[]

Part of the film was shot at Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
TBA.
Post-production[]
Post-production for the film begin by early-June 2023, once the film completed its shooting and was going for six months as the film involved extensive computer graphics and visual effects.[17] The VFX work of the film was done by DNEG.[18]
Soundtrack[]
TBA.
Marketing and release[]

Roshan and Padukone promoting the film in 2024
The teaser of the film was released on 8 December 2023.[19] The official trailer of the film was released on 15 January 2024.[20]
Fighter was released on 25 January 2024, coinciding with the Republic Day.[21] Earlier in January 2021, it was announced that the film was going to release on 30 September 2022.[22] In October 2022, the release date was announced as 25 January 2024.[23] The film was banned across the countries of the GCC.[24][25]
Home media[]
The film premiered on Netflix on 21 March 2024.[26]
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Based on 24 professional critic reviews, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 33% of those reviews were positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10.[27]
TBA.
Box office[]
As of 8 March 2024, Fighter has grossed Template:INRConvert in India, with a further Template:INRConvert in overseas, for a worldwide total of Template:INRConvert.[3]
On its opening weekend, it topped the global box-office with a gross of $25 million, including debuting at the top-spot at the New Zealand box-office.[28][29]
Future[]
While writing the script, makers decided to make it a franchise.[30] In May 2023, it was reported that production of the sequel film Fighter 2 would begin after Anand finished shooting Tiger vs Pathaan.[31]
See also[]
- Operation Valentine, another 2024 Indian film with a similar theme.[32]
References[]
- ↑ [TBA Fighter receives UA certification: CBFC reveals runtime for Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone starrer]. Bollywood Hungama (20 January 2024).
- ↑ [TBA Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone Starrer Fighter's Budget Is a Whopping Rs 250 Crore].
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 [TBA Fighter Box Office] (25 January 2024).
- ↑ [TBA India's first aerial action franchise, 'Fighter' starring Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor] (10 March 2022).
- ↑ [TBA Fighter trailer: Hrithik Roshan's patriotic film references Pulwama attack and Balakot, warns of 'India occupied Pakistan'] (15 January 2024).
- ↑ Mukherjee, Anindita (25 May 2023). [TBA Exclusive! Hrithik Roshan's Fighter onboards real-life IAF cadets for film's shoot. See pic].
- ↑ [TBA Fighter trailer: Hrithik Roshan's patriotic film references Pulwama attack and Balakot, warns of 'India occupied Pakistan'] (15 January 2024).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bureau, The Hindu (15 January 2024). [TBA "'Fighter' trailer: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone conquer the skies"] Check
|url=
value (help). The Hindu. Retrieved 15 January 2024 – via www.thehindu.com. Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ↑ [TBA FIGHTER FIRST LOOK: Hrithik Roshan introduces himself as Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania]. Bollywood Hungama (4 December 2023).
- ↑ [TBA FIGHTER FIRST LOOK: Deepika Padukone shines as Squadron Leader Minal Rathore on the poster]. Bollywood Hungama (5 December 2023).
- ↑ [TBA FIGHTER FIRST LOOK: Anil Kapoor captivates as Group Captain Rakesh Jai Singh on the poster]. Bollywood Hungama (6 December 2023).
- ↑ [TBA FIGHTER: Deepika Padukone introduces Karan Singh Grover's Squadron Leader Sartaj Gill with brand new poster]. Bollywood Hungama (12 December 2023).
- ↑ [TBA FIGHTER: Akshay Oberoi turns Weapon System Operator Basheer Khan for Siddharth Anand directorial, see poster]. Bollywood Hungama (13 December 2023).
- ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (4 December 2020). [TBA BREAKING SCOOP: After War, Hrithik Roshan and Sidharth Anand to team up on FIGHTER – an aerial action thriller! : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama].
- ↑ [TBA Viacom18 Studios to present Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's Fighter] (en) (8 July 2021).
- ↑ Bhatnagar, Mudit (25 May 2023). [TBA Fighter: Hrithik Roshan Shoots With Real-Life IAF Cadets For Siddharth Anand's Aerial Actioner]. Zoom. Retrieved on June 3, 2023.
- ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (27 April 2023). [TBA Hrithik Roshan starrer Fighter to have a 25-minutes-long climax featuring hand-to-hand combat and aerial shots; deets inside : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama].
- ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (21 October 2022). [TBA Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter takes the Brahmastra VFX team onboard : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama].
- ↑ [TBA FIGHTER TEASER: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor set for India's first aerial mission in adrenaline-pumping glimpse] (8 December 2023).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter wage war against Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack; threaten to create 'India Occupied Pakistan' in the trailer"] Check
|url=
value (help). Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 15 January 2024. Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Release date of Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone's Fighter: All you need to know"] Check
|url=
value (help). The Economic Times. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023. Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ↑ [TBA Hrithik Roshan announces his next film 'Fighter' with Deepika Padukone; To release in September 2022] (10 January 2021).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone announce new release date of 'Fighter'"] Check
|url=
value (help). The Hindu. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023. Check|archive-url=
value (help) - ↑ [TBA Fighter: Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone's Film BANNED In All Gulf Countries Expect UAE?] (en) (2024-01-23).
- ↑ Dhanjal, Meher. [TBA Bollywood film 'Fighter' suspended in UAE? Residents react] (en).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor starrer Fighter to premiere on Netflix today; Hrithik says, "It is our tribute to the Indian Air Force""] Check
|url=
value (help). Bollywood Hungama. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024. - ↑ Template:Cite Rotten Tomatoes
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.[TBA "Bollywood Air Force Epic 'Fighter' Tops Global Box Office With $25 Million Weekend Haul"] Check
|url=
value (help). Variety. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024. - ↑ [TBA The Numbers - Weekend New Zealand Box Office Chart for January 26, 2024 (NZD)].
- ↑ [TBA Viacom18 Studios to present Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter; to be India's first aerial action franchise] (en) (8 July 2021).
- ↑ [TBA EXCLUSIVE: Prabhas and Siddharth Anand film put on hold; Reason REVEALED] (en) (6 May 2023).
- ↑ [TBA Director reacts to comparisons between Operation Valentine and Fighter] (20 February 2024).
External links[]
- Template:IMDb
- Template:Bollywood Hungama movie
Template:Siddharth Anand Template:Viacom18 Studios Template:Portal bar