Sky Force movie review: Veer Pahariya makes a smashing debut in Akshay Kumar's compelling action-drama

Star cast: Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Nimrat Kaur, Sara Ali Khan, Sharad Kelkar

Directors: Abhishek Anil Kapur and Sandeep Kewlani

Our country has given birth to several brave soldiers, who have sacrificed their lives for the motherland. Due to some recent biographical war dramas, we have witnessed the stories of unsung heroes.

Now, talking about Sky Force, which is based on India’s retaliatory attack on the Sargodha airbase of Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani air war of 1965, doesn’t only talk about India’s first airstrike but also speaks about the bravery and heroism of one Air Force officer, who made this airstrike successful.

In 1971, when Pakistan Air Force officers suddenly attack the airbase of India (over Kashmir issues), Indian Forces capture one of the Pakistani pilots Ahmed (Sharad Kelkar) in the counterattack.

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Wing Commander K.O. Ahuja of the Indian Air Force (fictionalization of O.P. Taneja VrC and played by Akshay Kumar) arrives to interrogate Ahmed and comes to know that he was awarded for assassinating one Indian Air Force Officer during the 1965 Sargodha attack.

Cut to, we go to the flashback of 1965 where Ahuja, Squadron’s Wing Commander K.O. Ahuja is at his Adampur airbase with his teammates including T. Vijaya (fictionalization of Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya MVC played by Veer Pahariya) and others.

T.K. Vijaya aka Tabby always sets seniors for breaking protocols but is a very skilled pilot and diehard patriotic, who is ready to sacrifice his life for the country with a big smile.

Ahuja is very close to Tabby as he sees his late brother Monu in him. On the other hand, Tabby considers Ahuja as his mentor. Ahuja’s head David Lawrence (Manish Chaudhari) informs that America has gifted 12 Starstriker Air Planes to Pakistan, which has made the Pakistani Air Force powerful.

David shares that Pakistan is planning to do something against India and instructs Ahuja to go for recce along with one more officer on their fighter planes and he can cross the border if he wishes to but at his own risk. In this recce, Ahuja and Tabby discover several weapons and artillery at the Pakistan border. While they do get attacked by Pakistani officers, Tabby clicks the weapon pics.

Ahuja shows pics to Lawrence and says that they should get ready for the war and should attack Pakistan before they try to execute their plan. However, Lawrence dismisses Ahuja’s words and says that the Government doesn’t want the Indian Air Force to attack first we are a peace-loving country.

Soon, after this discussion, Pakistan attacked the Indian Airbase at night knowing that the Indian Air Force didn’t have planes that fight at night. They kill Indian soldiers and destroy the airbase and fighter planes.

Now, the Indian government decides to teach Pakistan a lesson and tells the Indian Air Force to destroy their important air bases and starstriker planes.

While making a strategy Ahuja notices Pakistan’s PM speech and tells Lawrence the Starstriker planes are not kept at the border but in the central part of the country, Sargodha, which is Pakistan’s most secured base. They keep the name of the mission as Sky Force.

The mission is very tough as Indian planes don’t have that kind of fuel capacity, which will bring them back from Sargodha to Adampur. Ahuja makes 4 teams for the mission but due to David’s order, the former keeps Tabby on standby and not part of the core teams.

The mission gets accomplished and all officers reach back to their bases but Ahuja realizes that Tabby, who went back behind them, has done something big due to which they got saved and the mission was successful. Tabby goes missing in action and now Ahuja is on another mission to find Tabby and his contribution, which made India’s first airstrike successful. Where is Tabby and how he played a critical role in India’s retaliatory attack on the Sargodha airbase of Pakistan? Well, for that you have to watch Air Force on the big screen.

Directors Abhishek Anil Kapur and Sandeep Kewlani have kept the movie engrossing with compelling narrative and gripping storytelling. Right from the action sequences to emotional moments, every frame strikes a chord with the audience. Special brownie points to the VFX team and editor A. Sreekar Prasad, who kept the story flow watertight with a runtime of 125 minutes. The aerial combats will literally impress you to the core.

Talking about the performances, Akshay Kumar continues to impress with his act of wearing the uniform of the defence services. He’s the emotional backbone of the film. Veer Pahariya makes a smashing debut with his magnetic presence and charismatic charm as T. Vijaya, a daring fighter pilot. His innocent look and gritty avatar blend beautifully to give us a layered and impactful performance.

Sara Ali Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Manish Chaudhari and Sharad Kelkar provide good support and play their role to the T.

Sky Force creates a fusion of reel and real-life heroism, paying tribute to the sacrifices of India’s Air Force pilots. Offering a portrayal of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, it highlights India’s first retaliatory airstrike.

At its core is Wing Commander K.O. Ahuja, portrayed by Akshay Kumar as O.P. Taneja, a commander who faught for justice. His journey intertwines with that of T. Vijaya, played by Veer Pahariya as A.B. Devayya, a fearless rebel who risked everything to protect his nation.

Together, their narratives bring to life a tale of courage, sacrifice, and unwavering patriotism. Produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik under Maddock Films, in association with Jio Studios, Sky Force is a game-changer for Bollywood war epics

Rating: 4 (out of 5 stars)

Sky Force is releasing on 24th January