Sky Force, starring Akshay Kumar and Veer Pahariya, has got appreciation from all quarters. As a result, debutant co-director Abhishek Anil Kapur is on cloud nine. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to him about the feedback and a lot more.
Sky Force has got the numbers but for Abhishek Anil Kapur, the incredible word of mouth is a bigger reward. He said, “That is the most fulfilling part of the whole experience. We all want numbers for sure as it gives you an assurance that you’ve made a good film from a commercial point of view. But the way we are getting so much love from all quarters is overwhelming.”
What is fascinating is that it tells a story that not many were aware of. Moreover, it’s not a war film but more than that. Was this intentional? Abhishek agreed and replied, “Very well said. When we came up with the idea, I, Dinoo sir (producer Dinesh Vijan) and all of us were of the opinion that ‘Yeh kahaani toh duniya ko batani hai’. We all felt motivated and proud when we learned that this man went on a mission, was missing in action, his family had no idea about his whereabouts and then 23 years later, we got to know the truth about his valour that too from a book written from the Pakistani point of view. He shot down a Starstriker; that’s akin to a Maruti 800 defeating a BMW! Even talking about it gives me goosebumps. India vs Pakistan was simply a backdrop to tell this story. Our intention was always to tell the story of the brave fighter pilot A B Devayya.”
On top of it, the back-and-forth narrative kept the audience curious as to what must have happened to Tabby, the character essayed by Veer Pahariya and which is inspired by A B Devayya. On this, Abhishek explained, “We have been working on this film for 2 ½ years. In this period, we toyed with different narrative styles. We narrated the linear script to our producers and HODs. Finally, we concluded that a non-linear narrative works the best as we wanted to truly engage the audience. Had we gone linear, we were not sure if we would have got the attention of the audience from the word ‘Go’. Once the trailer was out, I am sure everyone researched about A B Devayya and they knew that he had sacrificed his life during this mission. Yet so many people told us that they were hoping that Tabby would be alive.”
When asked about the feedback in cinemas, Abhishek Anil Kapur smiled and stated, “We saw people weeping and clapping. Naare bhi lag rahe the. For a debut director, it is surreal, like is this happening for real?”
Before Sky Force was released, there were comparisons with the 2024 Hrithik Roshan-starrer Fighter. It was also an aerial patriotic entertainer and coincidentally, also hit cinemas on Republic Day, just like Sky Force. Once viewers saw Sky Force and realized how it was different from Fighter, the comparisons ended. Yet, before release or before Fighter was out, did he feel apprehensive?
Abhishek Anil Kapur said, “When a director like Siddharth Anand makes a film with a superstar like Hrithik Roshan, there will be an apprehension about whether your story will stick around by the time your film releases. But as soon as we saw Fighter, we were all very relieved and I was not then not scared of any comparison. The leads of both films are Air Force pilots. That doesn’t mean the films are the same. Aap Dabangg aur Singham ko toh compare nahin karte ho na? The makers of Fighter had a great story and action. Our action choreography and script, meanwhile, were completely different.”
More Pages: Sky Force Box Office Collection , Sky Force Movie Review
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