I believe that behind every successful woman, is her father, rooting for her and pushing her towards greatness. Gunjan Saxena, the biopic of The Kargil Girl, the first Indian female pilot in combat, is one such story of a father, helping her fly as high as the sky.
I was waiting for Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, so much so that I even ended up setting reminders on Netflix to be able to watch it right on time. My excitement was because of the presence of Pankaj Tripathi and the storyline which screamed of breaking stereotypes of the narrative, “a woman belongs in the kitchen, and not elsewhere”. Pankaj Tripathi always has ways to surprise people with his performance. However, it was Janhvi Kapoor who was chhota packet bada dhamaka in the movie.
I’ll talk more about her performance later in the article. I am not going to give away spoilers but just talk about the impressive performances.
The story is about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot since her childhood days, and despite all the odds, she becomes an air force officer, the first female in combat, and while it may look cool from the outside, it wasn’t all hunky and dory for Gunjan Saxena.
In a man’s world in the ’90s, she broke all stereotypes and reached heights, partook in the Kargil War, and completed over 40 missions. Even though the whole nepotism debate is at its peak, Janhvi Kapoor will leave you thoroughly impressed with her power-packed performance. I saw her receiving a lot of hatred online, but her hard work shows, and for a performance so powerful, she does deserve all the credit and more. If you have been disappointed after watching Janhvi in Dhadak, let me tell you, you are going to be pleasantly surprised and will even shed a few tears with the performance.
Pankaj Tripathi on the other hand has perfectly played the part of a supportive and feminist father. His natural and the typical cool father conversational tone will make you fall in love with him and remind you of your younger days with your own father. Each time Pankaj Tripathi comes on screen, you’ll be forced to believe that this is not something you’re watching online but an actual father-daughter conversation.
Angad Bedi has played the role of a protective brother quite well, and there is little you can complain about him. You will not be able to stop that smile of yours when you see him proud and saluting his sister after she returns from her mission.
Ayesha Raza Mishra has convincingly played the part of a mother, who goes to an astrologer with all her problems, but does not shy away from taking her daughter’s side when the outside world complains.
You’ll shed a few tears every time something goes wrong with Gunjan, or you see her almost give up. However, you’ll feel proud of her, and feel elated when she achieves something. The climax will bring several tears of joy. This one is definitely a feel-good movie and I would give it nothing less than at least 4.5 stars since I did not find anything worth complaining.
OTT Platform: Netflix
Cast: Janhvi Kapoor, Angad Bedi, Pankaj Tripathi, Vineet Kumar Singh, Ayesha Raza, Manav Vij
