When the world heard about the movie “Fighter” starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone as the lead pair, there was a buzzing excitement taking this fresh new jodi and the patriotic theme of the movie. From the first look to the teaser to the songs, the enthusiasm towards the film has been palpable. It is one of the releases that everyone has been looking forward to watching in the theatres. The much-awaited trailer dropped this week leaving the masses feeling, well, mixed emotions.

With “Fighter”, Siddharth Anand returns with Hrithik Roshan after their iconic partnership in “War” that created history. The movie has been strategically placed a day before the Republic Day long weekend. Fighter’s three-minute-nine-second-long trailer takes the audience on a thrilling journey with the elite unit of the Indian Air Force – the Air Dragons. The trailer encapsulates the camaraderie, courage and sacrifice of these heroes.

Originally scheduled for a September 2022 release, the film experienced delays and was rescheduled to January 2023. It was then aligning with the release of Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan,” another film directed by Siddharth Anand featuring Deepika Padukone. Subsequently, the release date was further shifted to September 2023 before ultimately settling on the current date of January 25, 2024. 

The Plot

The movie revolves around the Balakot airstrike that was done by the Indian Armed Forces (IAF) in the vicinity of the town of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The airstrike targeted what is believed to be the largest camp of the terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir. The brutal attack had taken the lives of nearly 40 CRPF soldiers. 

Fighter movie trailer reactions social media X cast hrithik roshan deepika padukone anil kapoor

The Cast

“Fighter” showcases Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan as Indian Air Force pilots engaged in an airstrike operation against Pakistan. Anil Kapoor is playing the role of a Chief Air Force Officer who creates a quick action force comprising 6 of the most talented IAF Officers for this special and secret mission. “Fighter” also stars Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi in the lead roles. The squad members embark on a mission to safeguard our skies and nation by confronting looming threats.

The Villain

The audiences have been speculating who the villain of the movie is. Finally seen in some glimpses in the trailer of the movie, this mysterious villain is Rishabh Sawhney. He is a popular model and is known for his work in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati (2022), The Empire (2021) and Bestseller (2022). Filmmaker Siddharth Anand wanted a new face as the villain of the movie and so, according to him, Rishabh was a perfect fit.

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The Pulse Of Social Media

The Positive Reactions

Those who liked the trailer of the action movie, applauded all the stars and makers. Many even declared the movie as the next Bollywood blockbuster. They feel Hrithik and Deepika’s hot looks and sizzling chemistry teemed with the mind-blowing songs raise Fighter’s potential to be the best action film.

Deepika’s husband and actor Ranveer Singh commented, “ABSOLUTE FIRE!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 What a trailer!!!! Stunning!!!! 🛩️ I’m gobsmacked!!!!! 🤯 All the best Team fighter!!!! 🫡🇮🇳” Hrithik Roshan’s father and filmmaker Rakesh Roshan wrote, “Super.” Actor Bhumi Pednekar commented, “Bloody bloody insaneeeeee.”

An X user wrote, “Hrithik Roshan always manages to impress us with his incredible talent and charm. He truly is the undisputed Greek God of Bollywood! 🔥🙌🏻” Another said, “Any film looks deadlier when you choose a villain who can look more fierce & competitive to lead hero“

People who watched the trailer for the first time in theatres were asked their thoughts about it and everyone was buzzing with adrenaline to watch the film soon.

The audience is elated to watch Deepika and Hrithik together on-screen for the first time ever. It does seem to be quite a promising pairing.

The Not-So-Positive Reactions

The stunning visuals, VFX, music, and glimpses of the film’s aerial combat sequences have left audiences wanting more. However, they do not seem very happy with the dialogue writing in the movie. Other than that, many Pakistanis as well as Indians are condemning the “anti-Pakistan” narrative most patriotic Indian films like “Fighter” have been adopting.

“Why are you guys soooo obsessed with Pakistan? Also shame!! I think it should be time that we should rather promote peace instead of further hate…” wrote an Instagram user. Another said, “Unfortunately another movie coming out of Bollywood fantasising about Pakistan. Literally running out of content guys, copying Top Gun Maverick action scenes and same old ghitti pitti Pak vs Ind story.“

People who’ve watched the trailer find an uncanny resemblance with Gadar in terms of the dialogues in the movie. And while that may have worked for Sunny Deol’s famous franchise, they seem to sound absurd to people in “Fighter.”

Some of the netizens are finding the film’s dialogues to be extremely corny and out of context for the movie. A user wrote, “Very good, brahmastra dialogue writer has outdone himself with fighter dialogues” Another said, “There’s low-hanging fruit and then there’s dialogues of Fighter. 🤦‍♂️“

So, will the movie do better than what the trailer offers or will it be a disappointment? Well, with blockbuster hits like Pathaan and Jawan, “Fighter” does seem like the type of movie that will bring the masses to the theatres. We’ll know the public sentiment upon its big screen release on 25th January. What do you feel about “Fighter” after watching the trailer? Let us know in the comments below.