India celebrated its 74th Independence Day yesterday. Our nation is known for its patriots and sacrifices. India has given the world some of the greatest talents. As we love setting an inspiration for the world, another such inspiration was set during the outbreak of the Kargil War.
Gunjan Saxena is a noted name in the Indian history. A truly empowered woman, who was the first female Indian Air Force pilot to have served during the Kargil War. Such names sometimes get covered under the sands of time. But, our very own Bollywood has never left any chance to acknowledge such warriors. In another attempt to do so, Sharan Sharma directed ‘Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl’ made its way to the digital platform. The movie was released worldwide on Netflix on 12th August 2020. Acting in the movie are Janhvi Kapoor playing Gunjan Saxena, Pankaj Tripathi playing the role of Anup Saxena (Gunjan’s father), Angad Bedi as Anshuman Saxena (Gunjan’s brother), Manav Vij as Air Force Commando Gautam Sinha, Vineet Kumar Singh as Air Force Officer Dileep Singh, and many more.
The opening scene of the movie shows Gunjan as child sitting in an aircraft fighting with her brother over seeing the outer view from the window shield. As her brother refuses her to do so, she is accompanied by an air hostess to the cockpit of the plane. There she sees the clouds, the sky, and this is where her dream of becoming a pilot took birth. From that very day, Gunjan chased only one dream, and that was to become a pilot. Throughout the movie we can see that Gunjan has a constant support from her father, whereas her mother and her brother were not so happy with her decisions.
Fighting all odds, completing her education and after receiving rejections, Gunjan finally gets admitted to the Indian Air Force where she has to face many difficulties. Entering a world which was, to everyone, not for the girls. Even with all the obstacles, difficulties and challenges put forth her, Gunjan manages to be one of the best pilots of the Uthampur division. A life changing moment for her happened when she is chosen to serve the country during the Kargil War, the only female Air Force pilot to do so. Even after constant doubt on her, Gunjan finally succeeds in proving her worth to the world. She executes over 40 rescue missions in the Kargil Valley.
The story of Gunjan Saxena is a real-life inspiring story. Janhvi Kappor has did complete justice to the role. Infact her transformation from Dhadak (her first movie) to Gunjan Saxena (her second Movie) is unbelievable. Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi and others have also stayed true to their character. It is one of the most inspiring biopics of the Bollywood. The film is rather simple and there is a proper flow in the story.
However, the film did not appeal much to the critics. The movie received a 5.3 rating on IMDb. The director also did a mistake in depicting the Air Force salute. The salute was done wrongly through the entire movie. A little more carefulness in making such a movie would have been appreciated. A lot of controversy has been boiling around the movie. Just, three days since the release of the movie, allegations such as wrong portrayal of the IAF have been put on the movie. The film makers have been asked to take down the movie.
Whether or not the allegations are true, cannot really be determined by us. But, simply talking in terms of content, ‘Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl’ is a fair movie. It is a worth a watch. So, in the lockdown where we don’t really have much to do, do take time out to watch this piece of work. Though it might not surprise you very much, it will certainly entertain you, inspire you. The movie also depicts the norms beyond which every single girl needs to go. So, this movie is dedicated to India and it daughters.
– Sampurna Panigrahi
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