I just finished watching Gunjan Saxena -the Kargil Girl on Netflix, a movie that is being criticized by many because of Jahnvi Kapoor. This is my honest movie review.
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil girl is a film that revolves around the 1999 Kargil conflict and what made the first Indian Air force women pilot want to fly so bad that she braved concerted antagonism in a tough male-dominated field? The movie is based on an incredible real-life story where the struggles and gender-based discrimination faced by Gunjan Saxena has been described.
The Lucknow-born Gunjan Saxena hailed from an army background and is sky-struck from an early age, fighting for a window seat with her older brother (Angad Bedi) during a flight, regardless of going to choose the conventional route of good girls getting a degree-and-getting married. Her father is very supportive (played by Pankaj Tripathi) who gives her the determination to become a pilot.
Among the bunch of young men, Gunjan Saxena was a lone female facing various difficulties bristling under the pressure of having to salute a woman, or having to watch their tongue, is all there. Apart from that, the film has also expressed how Gunjan Saxena struggled against the standard “fauji”, training and eventually being able to take off, fighting against the enemies, and rescuing the colleagues.
Anshuman’s character is played by Angad Bedi in the movie who leaves confusion in the mind of the audience whether he wants a sister to fly or not. The climax of the film was the Kargil War that will make you feel very proud and later on including her brother, her male counterparts, salute, and celebrate her bravery at the war ground.
The director didn’t stretch the film unnecessarily and did not make it Kargil war film. I always focus on the direction and story of the movie more than WHO IS IN THE MOVIE, because I simply do not care if it’s a new comer or a product of nepotism. Because I believe you can enter the industry with the contacts of your mom dad but your own talent and public opinion decides if you stay or not. I watch every film with the same curiosity, until it’s of my favourite (like Hritikh Roshan, John Abraham, or Saif maybe. I did not write Shahrukh Khan because, choices change you see!)
Director Sharan Sharma is a good storyteller and have done a wonderful work. He focused on the main aspect of Gunjan Ma’am life which was interesting to watch.
Now coming to Jahnvi Kapoor’s acting! Well, I think at a few scenes her expressions were really natural (like when she first gets selected, when she is excited etc) but I felt glitch with her dialogue delivery. There were scenes when I could not understand her voice. Her expressions were really robotic in some scenes for overall, for the role of a naive new girl who just wants to fly an aircraft, this role was kind of suitable for Jahnvi, because of the innocence on her face!
The film has portrayed the relationship between a father and a daughter very beautifully. Saxena’s will for not giving up in the male-dominated society and the will to prove herself strong was the makes the film interesting, and a must-watch, though only for one-time!
I can give 3/5
Also read: 36 China Town (Shahid Kapoor wali movie) -I saw this movie after years & here’s the review
