Siddharth Anand’s aerial action drama Fighter’s rollercoaster ride at the box office continues. Theatrical attendance on the first day, a Thursday, was unimpressive. Following a far better performance on Republic Day, its second day, a fall on Saturday and Sunday suggested the possibility of a tough battle ahead. There was a steep decline in attendance from Monday, but the collections went up dramatically on its second Saturday in the theatres. Sunday promises to be reasonable, too, but there is no doubt that the lavishly mounted action entertainer made with a reported budget of around Rs 250 crore has failed to meet the sky-high expectations within the industry before its release.
Could Fighter have performed any better? It should have because it has not missed its target of offering an entertaining experience to the average viewer of commercial cinema. Moreover, it is a Hrithik Roshan vehicle in which the superstar has unleashed his appeal in the most alluring way possible. It has been made in an era in which the director’s name has become a significant consideration for many viewers. Anand has emerged as the most successful maker of actioners in recent years. Pathaan, his last directorial, had catalysed the resurgence of Bollywood with its lifetime collections of more than Rs 1,000 crore last year. Before Fighter’s release, most industry observers believed that the film might become a blockbuster. That much-desired verdict is beyond reach, which has disappointed those hoping for some dazzling magic at the start of the year.
Fighter’s poor marketing strategy — some would say it did not have any — could not generate enough interest among viewers before its release. Speaking to Galatta Plus, Anand had an explanation for the lukewarm initial response. Apart from mentioning the fact that the day of release was a working day, which prevented audiences from going to the theatres in large numbers, he said: “There is a huge percentage of our country, I would say, 90 percent, who have not flown in planes, who have not been to an airport, so how would they know what’s happening in the movie? This is my dissection. They felt this was a little alien.”
The maker added, “They did not understand what kind of exhilaration they are supposed to feel in the air action, so there is a certain initial disconnect. But once you enter the theatre, you realise this is such a basic film.” A part of his statement — possibly 90 percent of Indians have not flown in planes, which led to the initial disconnect — resulted in a volley of online humour. One social media user said Welcome was a hit because 90 percent of Indians paint, while another quipped that Chak De! India worked because 90 percent of Indians play hockey. The criticism was inevitable because most viewers watch films to indulge in experiences, which are often detached from reality as we know it in our day-to-day lives. If a masala film like Fighter headlined by its good-looking leading superstars Roshan and Deepika Padukone started slowly, in other words, that was primarily because the film was not promoted sufficiently well and the trailer impressed fewer potential moviegoers than it could have.
Fighter has some obvious strengths, such as cinematography, action choreography, background music and special effects. As fighter pilot Shamsher ‘Patty’ Pathania, Roshan steals the show with a towering performance. Patty is cocky, and there is a reason why his relationship with his senior (Anil Kapoor, good as usual) is far from ideal. The female protagonist Minal ‘Minni’ Rathore (Padukone, solid), Patty’s colleague, holds her own in a man’s world. The romantic track involving the protagonists does not disrupt the flow of the plot. The bonding of colleagues in the air force is believable. Although the plot focuses on a lot more than just Patty’s life, there is no doubt that the film’s USP is its handsome leading man. And, Roshan is perfect in his role — even when the camera captures him lovingly while he is having a shower or when he lets his famous green eyes do the talking.
The film has its weaknesses, the biggest being its predictable story with hardly any surprise. An action film benefits from a powerful antagonist, which a fierce-looking terrorist with a red eye named Afzar Akhtar (Rishabh Sawhney) is not. Sawhney fails to elevate his character above the ordinary despite his impressive screen presence. Some observers have pointed out that viewers are tired of Bollywood’s obsession with Pakistan. Pakistani activities play a significant role in Fighter’s plot, but whether or not that has dissuaded too many viewers from watching the film is debatable.
Fighter’s strengths outnumber its weaknesses easily. The relatively slow progress at the box office is the latest reminder that films deliver all kinds of verdicts. Blockbusters and superhits are rare. A handful of films do good business without becoming commercial monsters, but most struggle to break even or sink noiselessly. Further, a good film might not become a successful film because the viewer is the boss. And, this person is opinionated and unpredictable.
While we must wait for the lifetime collections of Fighter, the fact that the ambitious film has not flopped is good news. The possibility of serious competition is a few days away, and Roshan’s fans must be hoping that the numbers will make for much better reading in the long run.
(The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views)
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