It’s 2024, and Siddharth Anand, the maestro behind hits like War and Pathaan, drops another bombshell on the big screen: Fighter! Here you’ve got Hrithik Roshan as Patty, Anil Kapoor as Rocky, and Deepika Padukone as Minni—all playing Air Force aviators on a mission: taking down Pakistani terrorists at the time of the Pulwama attacks. Sure, some might say the storyline isn’t exactly breaking new ground—we’ve seen our fair share of patriotic dramas on the same subject, haven’t we? They will fight off the enemy, but how do they do it? That is the real question, and we will find the answer through this explainer. Because in Fighter, it’s not just about winning the battle; it’s about reminding us all what it means to be Indian, and damn, does it do it with style!
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did The Indian Air Force Plan To Attack Azhar Akhtar?
At the beginning of Fighter movie, we are introduced to Jaish-e-Mohammad, a terrorist organization in Pakistan, and its leader, Azhar Akhtar. This terrorist organization wants to fight the Indian army and attack the Srinagar Air Force Station. They have sought Azhar’s help to fulfill their mission because he has previously shown his credibility in attacking India during the Indian embassy blast and Kabul bombing in Mazar-e-Sharif. Thus, they have no doubt that he is the right man for the job. Meanwhile, we meet the Srinagar Indian Air Force officers, including Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathan, popularly known as Patty; Minal Rathore, known as Minni; Sartaj Gill, popularly known as Taj; Basheer Khan, known as Bash; and others. Their group captain and commanding officer is Rakesh Jaisingh, known as Rocky. It is later revealed that they have received information about the impending terrorist attack in India by Pakistani terrorists, with involvement from the Pakistani military.
The group of officers is considered to be the best group of Air Force pilots and is tasked with fighting off the enemy. However, there is a conflict between Rocky and Patty. Despite being one of the best pilots, Rocky does not let Patty lead the team due to a past incident, leading to a strained relationship between them. It is later revealed that Naina, Rocky’s sister and Patty’s fiancée, died during a mission three years earlier, which Patty was leading. Meanwhile, it is discovered that Majeed Khan, the chief of the terrorist group, is planning to enter Kashmir with 100 kilos of RDX. However, the Indian army receives information beforehand and captures the enemies, detaining the RDX. This leads to a victory for them, and they call the CRPF for further support to prevent future attacks. Azhar suffers a setback from this and enters the territory with 300 kilos of RDX this time. The CRPF officers, who were on the bus, came for backup, but 70 of them died from the bomb blast and others were severely injured. This emotionally torments the Indian Air Force and Army, leading them to realize they must fight back to defeat Jaish-e-Mohammad and Azhar Akhtar. It becomes a challenge for them, but will they succeed? Let’s see!
How Did Red Nose Get Patty Back?
You won’t believe what happened next! Surely the Indian armed forces realized they needed a plan to fight off the enemy. Thus, Commanding Officer Rocky and Squadron Leader Patty went to a meeting led by the National Security Officer. There, they finally came up with a plan, which was quite unusual and hadn’t been done since 1971. And you know what the plan was? An airstrike in Pakistan! But they decided this attack would only target terrorists, not civilians in any way. Their destination was Balakot, because they had information that the terrorists and most of Azhar’s men were hiding there, making it their target. They were ready for the attack. They boarded their aircraft, crossed the LOC, and entered PoK. Through their proper tactics, the attack went as planned, and they destroyed all the RDX and terrorists in the Pathankot area where the terrorists were hiding. But sadly, Azhar was still alive. While the fighters were returning to their base camp, Patty and Taj were at the rear. Meanwhile, the best Pakistan Air Force pilot, Red Nose, came to attack them and capture Taj. But Patty threatened him, showing his camaraderie and love for his fellow soldier, which forced Red Nose to let Taj go, and both of them successfully returned to the base camp. But wait, it gets crazier! You can imagine how the Pakistani army didn’t take this defeat well. So, they attacked multiple Indian airbases. Patty knew they had to fight back, so he went after them. He wanted to get inside the Pakistani borders, but the terrorists posted jammers in that area. So Patty knew he had to enter without permission. Taj and Bash, being the loyal soldiers they are, followed him. But you know what happened? It was all a show, a plan made by Red Nose to get back at Patty. Although Patty got out safe, Bash and Taj got trapped in Pakistani territory.
How Did Azhar Die?
As Patty entered enemy territory without permission and left his fellow soldiers’ lives in danger, he would surely face consequences. An inquiry team decided to let Patty go and transfer him to the Air Force Training Academy to train young soldiers. He was devastated thinking about his fellow soldier brothers. But in the meantime, he got the news that Taj and Bash would be returned to the Indian base camp, which made Patty really happy. He went back to the Srinagar base camp to welcome his fellow soldiers. But what they witnessed was something they did not expect! They saw a stretcher coming from the Pakistan helicopter, and as they were standing there welcoming them, they saw a stretcher with Basheer’s dead body being taken down from the helicopter. After enduring much torture, he got the sweet relief of death. Now they knew they needed an action plan! Enough is enough! They knew they had to save Taj any way they could! Meanwhile, we can see how Taj is getting tortured in the camp. Amidst all this chaos comes the shocking revelation that a spy who works in the Indian RAW, named Yafid Salim, has given the Pakistan army information that they will be attacked in the night, so the Pakistan army was getting prepared regarding that. But little did they know that Yafid did not betray his own country, and had given them the wrong information. The Indian army attacked in the morning through the Garud Force so that these terrorists would be defeated once and for all! Azhar tried to fight off the soldiers until his last breath, even blasting aircraft and killing the Indian army. But Minni, in the meantime, amidst all this chaos, rescued Taj and took him in her helicopter. Rocky vouched for Patty to finish their mission so that Patty could be given permission to fight off the enemy, and he did. Red Nose tried to finish off their aircraft, but Patty destroyed his aircraft, killing him. Both of them came to land by parachuting down, and finally, they confronted Azhar Akhtar—dragged him with a car—and finally killed the infamous terrorist who thought he was untouchable.
At the end of Fighter, we see how everyone is safely returned to the basecamp, along with Taj, with his bruised body but alive! Rocky saw how Patty showed bravery in defeating the enemies and knew that what happened in the past about Naina’s death was completely situational. It was not at all his fault, and Rocky apologized to him, saying Patty is a true fighter and a true leader! Patty was also happy to repair their relationship, addressing him as the best commanding officer and showing him respect! They both hugged, both overjoyed with defeating the enemy.
