Hindi cinema is filled with movies that cater to the theme of patriotism. In the last few years, many films in this genre have taken over the theater and OTT platforms. Shershaah, Sardar Udham, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Kesari, Bhuj: The Pride of India, Parmanu, Baby, and Satyamev Jayate. Only a few films could tap into genuine patriotism, while the rest were loud and jingoistic, with little to nothing to offer in the emotional sector or storytelling aspect. Tejas is one such film that could be included in the latter group. There is nothing beyond Kangana’s decent performance that sustains the film for two hours. The movie is the story of an Air Force officer who becomes a part of a mission to save an Indian soldier held captive in a hostile country.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Was Tejas Under Probation?
Tejas was a skilled Indian Air Force pilot who was assigned to rescue another pilot. The pilot’s plane crashed, but he ejected and landed on a marooned island. Tejas and her co-pilot Aafiya were informed Vivek fell on the North Sentinel Island of the Andamans, which is occupied by the Sentinelese tribe, a protected community that never interacted with anyone from outside the island. Tejas rescued Vivek by going against her officials’ orders, but she got injured in the process. Despite her heroic efforts, she and her colleague Aafiya were put under investigation for going against direct orders. This mission proved her to be a pilot of great caliber, and showed she would be willing to put herself at stake to save other Indian soldiers.
What Was Ekveer And Tejas’ Story?
Vivek was in awe of the bravery Tejas displayed, and he asked her out for dinner, insinuating a date. Tejas was reminded of her boyfriend, Ekveer, who was a musician and singer she met at his concert. Her tough nature and standing up for what is right brought them together as a couple. Ekveer had many fans who loved his music, while Tejas had fans of her own who were in awe of the job she did apart from flying planes. She was a soldier, and Ekveeer was proud of the mindset she carried about her work. Ekveer and Tejas had come close to tying the knot, for she had introduced him to her parents. Unfortunately, her family and Ekveer had died in the Leopold Café attacks of 11/26, and her personal life had never been the same. She managed to delve into her work and never looked back.
Who Recognized The Spy That Was Caught By The Enemy Nation?
The news of an Indian engineer caught in the lawless areas of Pakistan was making the news as the terrorist outfit and locals of that region leaked the video of the capture and torture to the Indian media. The government of India was helpless as this entire hostage situation was unfolding in a region that is the epicenter of terrorism.
Tejas was able to recognize the man captured as Prashant, who was with her and Aafiya at the air force training academy. She was sure Prashant was an agent, which is why he refused to divulge any intelligence. Tejas and Aafiya, using the videos available online, could decode his messages through his eye blinks, delivered Morse code.
Tejas was the first to inform her superior officers about Prashant being stuck in Mir Ali, the town that was ravaged by terrorists. Intelligence and the armed forces knew Prashant had some information about bomb blasts that were being planned from Pakistan to be carried out on Indian soil. Tejas offers an operation to be conducted to rescue Prashant before he is killed.
Why Did Tejas Want To Join The Mission?
Tejas was initially asked not to join the mission because of the incident at Andamans and the fact that she lost her family and boyfriend in a terrorist attack. Her superiors believe she would be too emotional to lead the mission because of her history, and they couldn’t risk putting a person who would make decisions based on sentiments and not logic. Tejas convinced them based on their intelligence and her ability as a skilled pilot. Apart from this, she was honest about losing her loved ones in a terrorist attack, which makes the mission personal for her. Her superior officer was moved by her vigor, and he named the mission after her.
What Was Their Plan To Extract Prashant?
Mission Tejas aimed to utilize a cargo plane from Norway as Indian fighter planes cannot be detected in Pakistani airspace. This was a complicated idea that required sanctions from the Indian PM as well as Norwegian diplomats and their heads of state. On reaching the Pakistani air base closer to Mir Ali, they placed a device to create an optical illusion. This phenomenon would help them dock planes without creating any suspicion and extract Prashant after crossing a torrid desert-filled region of the country. This comes across as a solid plan with an airtight buffer time that would make it easy for them to bring Prashant to the airbase. This plan had to work, or there was no other way to bring their man back without starting a war with the enemy nation.
Did Tejas And Aafiya Rescue Prashant From Pakistan?
The plan worked like clockwork, and it was the seamless execution by the teams of Norway and India so far that led to the first part of the rescue mission being a success. No rescue mission would work out without any unexpected glitches. The Norwegian cargo plane was under grave suspicion, and rightly so, for the Pakistani military had every right to be livid. This hurdle was added just to increase the tension and let Tejas and Aafiya work on their intelligence so that they were not caught by the enemy army on their soil. The tension was palpable, but the Norwegian pilot’s presence of mind made sure they did not get busted. If Tejas and Aafiya were caught, all would be arrested for espionage and would be thrown in prison.
Tejas and Aafiya were able to place the optical illusion panels far away from the Air Traffic Controller to make sure there was no disruption during their rescue mission. Tejas’ plan was working because they were able to hoodwink the Pakistan ATC just as planned. It was ridiculous of the writers to present the people from across the border as naïve and having no understanding of things when they go wrong. Citing them as lazy and arrogant sets a bad precedent for relations with the neighboring country.
Aafiya and Tejas walk across the desert, eliminate all the terrorists, and rescue Prashant. An exhausted and drained Prashant informed both about the attack on the Ram temple, which was going to be inaugurated on that very day. This was the whole idea behind the rescue mission: to find out what or who could be the target of the terrorist outfit. The temple will have devotees from around the country, but the terrorist outfit was targeting the place of devotion to create a sense of animosity against the faith that carried out the attack.
Tejas and Aafiya took off in two respective planes with Prashant in the latter’s jet, and they were detected on the ATC radar. Soon, they were attacked by the enemy planes, and a dogfight ensued for a long time. The dogfight was expected and was a last-resort action from the enemy nation to capture the pilots and Prashant. The fact that Tejas and Aafiya carried out this mission without making a lot of noise is what secured their victory. As the terrorists at the Ram temple were neutralized by NSG troops, Tejas was keen on killing the mastermind of the foiled terrorist attack. Her superiors had intercepted his call, which made it easy for them to provide the coordinates. Tejas, just like in the beginning of the film, goes against the orders and plans to bomb the mastermind’s den. This was her way of ending the extremism that kept targeting her homeland frequently.
The movie ends with Tejas planning to bomb and kill the mastermind while her jet malfunctions because of the attacks by the Pakistani fighter jets. The only plan left was to crash the jet into the coordinates provided to her in Kamikaze style. She wanted to make the ultimate sacrifice and prove herself to be the pilot whose sacrifice would be talked about. Aafiya, Prashant and her superiors tried to stop her, but Tejas had made up her mind. Her sacrifice would also bring her closer to her parents and Ekveer. The last shot of the movie has Tejas speaking to Ekveer about why she loves her job. She believes if the country were protected like a loved one, a lot of the stories of the sacrifice would never go unheard. Her words were heartfelt, which proved her job as an Air Force pilot was more than an avenue to earn a monthly government salary. She believes in the ultimate sacrifice that could make people immortal, and Tejas did just that.
