On the wings of dreams

Nonika Singh

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Ladkiyan bhi kabhi pilot banti hai ?….  In 2020, the dialogue might seem ludicrous if not laughable. But turn back the clock; three decades ago and this might have been the prevailing sentiment. Gunjan Saxena; The Kargil Girl is a true story about a young girl who aspired to be a pilot, a dream that finally bears fruition when she joins the Indian Air Force. Needless to say, becoming an officer in times when the IAF had just about opened its doors(1994) to women as pilots , has to be fraught with hurdles. Hers begin both before and after realising her dream.

Aspirations, struggles, her arduous journey and moment of triumph are what form the flesh and bones of the story. Sure Gunjan earned her name courtesy the part she played in the Kargil War((she happened to be one of the first woman IAF officers who went to war), which earned her the sobriquet Kargil Girl. The narrative, however, does not bog you down with the semantics of the Kargil War. It stays primarily with Gunjan. Her run-in with her superiors and batch-mates, one encouraging and others who would spare no opportunity to snub her, throws light on what it takes to be a woman in an all-male domain. Manav Vij and Vineet Kumar Singh (her superiors) and Angad Bedi (her brother) play significant cameos.

In a female-oriented film, except for the lead actor Janhvi Kapoor, its men who have meaty parts, especially the gifted actor Pankaj Tripathi. Like always, his is a stellar presence. As the progressive father of Gunjan, he supports her all the way and tells his son, “Whether it’s a man or a woman, the one flying the plane is called pilot only.” And quips jokingly, “If a plane does not have an objection why should you?”

Naysayers, however, abound in a woman’s professional world, especially when she decides to storm a male bastion. It’s not as if men here are villains. Only smug in their all-male domain, they don’t know how to deal with and react to female presence. So, they fall silent on seeing her, slyly move away when she joins them and then stubbornly refuse to grant her due space.

The film’s backdrop might be the defence forces, both Gunjan’s father and brother are Army officers, yet it is bereft of jingoism and proves you can make an inspirational film without beating the patriotic drums. As Pankaj Tripathi tells his daughter when she wonders aloud if she is patriotic enough, “The country does not need cadets to raise slogans but efficient officers who do their job diligently.”

Janhvi Kapoor in the lead part sure is credible, if not outstanding. Minus make-up and  shorn of glamour, the half-smile playing on her lips, the lump in her throat and the uniform that fits her well, you quite relate to her representation of Gunjan and her travails.

Much of the arc of the film, however, is linear, which also makes it a little flat. Even though it begins with a war scene, there are few heart-in-your-mouth moments or ones which would keep you on the edge. On all counts, it remains a heart-warming tale of a young girl and how she made her presence count in a male bastion. Gunjan we learn was all of 24 when Kargil War of 1999 happened. So, many of you netizens who are calling for a boycott of Gunjan Saxena for it is a Dharma production, let it be said, boycotting the film would be a disservice to the real Gunjan. Her name has found a resonance thanks to this very biopic. Streaming on Netflix from August 12, watch it to know what women have known all along, the path to success for them, more so when it calls for breaking barriers is never ever easy.