Sky Force
The story of India’s first airstrike at Pakistan’s Sargodha airbase in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani air war is the focus of the action drama Sky Force, which will be released in India in 2025. The film is directed by Abhishek Anil Kapur and Sandeep Kewlani and produced by Maddock Films and Jio Studios. It also features Sara Ali Khan, Nimrat Kaur, and newcomer Veer Pahariya. Sky Force, which was first made public in October 2023, began filming in Mumbai in May 2023. The principal photography wrapped up in late-April 2024, spanning 100 days, with shooting held in parts of India and the UK.
The theatrical release of Sky Force occurred on January 24, 2025, during the weekend of Republic Day.
Plot
Due to the conflict in Kashmir, Pakistan’s Air Force launched a sudden attack on an Indian airbase in 1971. Ahmed, a pilot from Pakistan, is captured by the Indian Air Force in retaliation. Upon interrogating him, Group Captain K. O. Ahuja discovers that he was awarded for killing an Indian officer in the 1965 war.
Ahuja and his teammates, including T, in 1965 K. Vijaya are at the Adampur Airbase. The alias Vijaya Despite the fact that Tabby is a skilled and patriotic pilot, he consistently targets his superiors for violating protocol. He shares a close bond with Ahuja as he considers him as his mentor while Ahuja sees his late brother Monu in Vijaya. David Lawrence, Ahuja’s older brother, tells him that Pakistan has received 12 Star Striker fighter planes from the United States.
On receiving confidential information about a possible attack from Pakistan, David instructs Ahuja to go on a recce along with one more officer and cross the border at his own risk.
Ahuja and Tabby come across a number of weapons and artillery at the Pakistan border during the reconnaissance. Despite getting noticed by Pakistani officers, Tabby clicks pictures of the weapons.
Ahuja suggests that India launch an attack before Pakistan can carry out their plan after analyzing the images. According to Lawrence, the government would not support India attacking first for human rights reasons.
Soon after, Pakistan attacks the Indian airbase at night, knowing that India does not have any planes that can fight at night. They destroy the airbase, stationed fighter planes, and kill Indian soldiers. In retaliation, the Indian government decide upon a counterattack to destroy Pakistan’s important air bases and their Star Striker planes.
While strategizing, Ahuja gets to know from the Pakistani PM’s speech that the Star Striker planes are placed in the central part of the country, at the Sargodha Airbase. “Sky Force” is the mission’s name. The mission is tough for India, due to the existing planes not having the fuel capacity which can bring them back to Adampur after attacking Sargodha. For the mission, Ahuja puts together four teams, but Lawrence tells him to keep Tabby on standby and not in the four core teams.
The mission gets accomplished and all the officers return to their bases. Ahuja discovers upon returning that Tabby has vanished after departing a few minutes after his scheduled time. The Indian government turns a blind eye to finding Tabby, labelling him as rebellious for not following orders. In the interim, Geeta, Tabby’s wife, urges Ahuja to locate him because he had previously promised her that he would care for Tabby because he was his younger brother. Despite his best efforts, he does not receive any support from the government, who try to label his disappearance as his own fault.
After several years, Ahuja is remorseful in 1971 for breaking his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war. Despite Tabby’s contributions to the mission, the authorities deny Vir Chakra to all of the soldiers who participated in the mission. Ahuja is devastated when he takes off his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait. He gets closer to finding Tabby after questioning Ahmed, but the government refuses to help with the investigation. 20 years later, a retired Group captain Ahuja, receives a parcel from Ahmed, which contains a book regarding the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965.
He successfully reopens the case with additional evidence and even joins the investigation team. They travel across the world to inquire with several people and finally meet Ahmed in Pakistan, who tells them the true story. He recalls the greatest battle of his life with an unidentified Indian soldier who evaded US technology and twice escaped the missiles. He reveals that Tabby, whom he had assumed to be dead since the first missile launch, was the unidentified pilot.
However, with his skills and bravery, shot down Ahmed’s aircraft by sacrificing himself and died in Pakistani territory. In the present, in 1971, after several years, Ahuja is guilt-stricken for failing to keep his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war.
After being presented with evidence of his bravery, Tabby receives the Maha Vir Chakra, making him the only Indian soldier to receive the award after his death. Despite Tabby’s contributions to the mission, the authorities deny Vir Chakra to all of the soldiers who participated in the mission. Ahuja is devastated when he takes off his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait.
He gets closer to finding Tabby after questioning Ahmed, but the government refuses to help with the investigation. Twenty years later, a retired Group captain named Ahuja receives a package from Ahmed that contains a book about the 1965 Indo-Pak war. With more evidence, he successfully reopens the case and even becomes part of the investigating team.
They inquire with a number of people all over the world before meeting Ahmed in Pakistan, who tells them the real story. He recalls having the best fight of his life with an unknown Indian soldier, who dodged US technology and saved himself twice from the missiles. He reveals that the unknown pilot was Tabby, whom he presumed to be dead since the first missile launch. However, he killed himself in Pakistani territory after shooting down Ahmed’s aircraft with skill and bravery. After being presented with proof of his bravery, Tabby is awarded the Maha Vir Chakra and becomes the only Indian soldier to be posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.
In the present in 1971, after several years, Ahuja is guilt-stricken for failing to keep his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war. Despite Tabby’s contributions to the mission, the authorities deny Vir Chakra to all of the soldiers who participated in the mission. Heartbroken, Ahuja removes his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait. He gets closer to finding Tabby after questioning Ahmed, but the government refuses to help with the investigation. 20 years later, a retired Group captain Ahuja, receives a parcel from Ahmed, which contains a book regarding the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965.
He successfully reopens the case with additional evidence and even joins the investigation team. They inquire with a number of people all over the world before meeting Ahmed in Pakistan, who tells them the real story. He recalls having the best fight of his life with an unknown Indian soldier, who dodged US technology and saved himself twice from the missiles. He reveals that Tabby, whom he had assumed to be dead since the first missile launch, was the unidentified pilot. However, he killed himself in Pakistani territory after shooting down Ahmed’s aircraft with skill and bravery.
In the present, in 1971, after several years, Ahuja is guilt-stricken for failing to keep his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war. After being presented with evidence of his bravery, Tabby receives the Maha Vir Chakra, making him the only Indian soldier to receive the award after his death. While all the soldiers involved in the mission received Vir Chakra, the authorities leave out Tabby despite his contributions to the mission. Heartbroken, Ahuja removes his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait. After interrogating Ahmed, he becomes closer to locating Tabby, but receives no support from the government to facilitate the investigation.
Twenty years later, a retired Group captain named Ahuja receives a package from Ahmed that contains a book about the 1965 Indo-Pak war. He successfully reopens the case with additional evidence and even joins the investigation team. They travel across the world to inquire with several people and finally meet Ahmed in Pakistan, who tells them the true story. He recalls having the best fight of his life with an unknown Indian soldier, who dodged US technology and saved himself twice from the missiles. He reveals that the unknown pilot was Tabby, whom he presumed to be dead since the first missile launch.
However, with his skills and bravery, shot down Ahmed’s aircraft by sacrificing himself and died in Pakistani territory. In the present, in 1971, after several years, Ahuja is guilt-stricken for failing to keep his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war. After being presented with evidence of his bravery, Tabby receives the Maha Vir Chakra, making him the only Indian soldier to receive the award after his death. Despite Tabby’s contributions to the mission, the authorities deny Vir Chakra to all of the soldiers who participated in the mission. Heartbroken, Ahuja removes his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait.
He gets closer to finding Tabby after questioning Ahmed, but the government refuses to help with the investigation. Twenty years later, a retired Group captain named Ahuja receives a package from Ahmed that contains a book about the 1965 Indo-Pak war. With more evidence, he successfully reopens the case and even becomes part of the investigating team. They inquire with a number of people all over the world before meeting Ahmed in Pakistan, who tells them the real story. He recalls having the best fight of his life with an unknown Indian soldier, who dodged US technology and saved himself twice from the missiles.
He reveals that Tabby, whom he had assumed to be dead since the first missile launch, was the unidentified pilot. However, he killed himself in Pakistani territory after shooting down Ahmed’s aircraft with skill and bravery. After being presented with proof of his bravery, Tabby is awarded the Maha Vir Chakra and becomes the only Indian soldier to be posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.In the present in 1971, after several years, Ahuja is guilt-stricken for failing to keep his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war.
Despite Tabby’s contributions to the mission, the authorities deny Vir Chakra to all of the soldiers who participated in the mission. Ahuja is devastated when he takes off his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait. After interrogating Ahmed, he becomes closer to locating Tabby, but receives no support from the government to facilitate the investigation.
20 years later, a retired Group captain Ahuja, receives a parcel from Ahmed, which contains a book regarding the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. He successfully reopens the case with additional evidence and even joins the investigation team. They inquire with a number of people all over the world before meeting Ahmed in Pakistan, who tells them the real story.
He recalls having the best fight of his life with an unknown Indian soldier, who dodged US technology and saved himself twice from the missiles. He reveals that the unknown pilot was Tabby, whom he presumed to be dead since the first missile launch. However, with his skills and bravery, shot down Ahmed’s aircraft by sacrificing himself and died in Pakistani territory. In the present, in 1971, after several years, Ahuja is guilt-stricken for failing to keep his promise to Geeta and losing another brother in a war. After being presented with evidence of his bravery, Tabby receives the Maha Vir Chakra, making him the only Indian soldier to receive the award after his death.
While all the soldiers involved in the mission received Vir Chakra, the authorities leave out Tabby despite his contributions to the mission. Ahuja is devastated when he takes off his Vir Chakra and places it on Tabby’s portrait. He gets closer to finding Tabby after questioning Ahmed, but the government refuses to help with the investigation. 20 years later, a retired Group captain Ahuja, receives a parcel from Ahmed, which contains a book regarding the Indo-Pakist.
The mission is tough for India, due to the existing planes not having the fuel capacity which can bring them back to Adampur after attacking Sargodha. For the mission, Ahuja puts together four teams, but Lawrence tells him to keep Tabby on standby and not in the four core teams. The mission gets accomplished and all the officers return to their bases. Ahuja discovers upon returning that Tabby has vanished after departing a few minutes after his scheduled time.
The Indian government turns a blind eye to finding Tabby, labelling him as rebellious for not following orders. In the interim, Geeta, Tabby’s wife, urges Ahuja to locate him because he had previously promised her that he would care for Tabby because he was his younger brother. Despite his best efforts, he does not receive any support from the government, who try to label his disappearance as his own fault.
Cast
Credit – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Force_(film)
- Akshay Kumar as Wing Commander Kumar Om Ahuja (fictionalisation of Om Prakash Taneja VrC)[14]
- Veer Pahariya as T. Krishna Vijaya “Tabby” (fictionalisation of Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya MVC) [14]
- Maahir Raghuvanshi as young Tabby
- Sara Ali Khan as Geeta Vijaya
- Nimrat Kaur as Preeti Ahuja
- Sharad Kelkar as Ahmed Hussain (fictionalisation of Squadron Leader Amjad Hussain)
- Mohit Chauhan as Air Chief Marshal Arjun Sinha (fictionalisation of Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh)
- Manish Choudhary as Air Commodore David Lawrance
- Varun Badola as Air Vice Marshal Amit Narang
- Virendra Singh Patyal as Servant of Air Chief Marshal Arjun Sinha
- Anupam Joardar as Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President of India
- Jaywant Wadkar as Defence Minister Yashwantrao Chavan
- Soham Majumdar as Debashish “Cockroach” Chatterjee
- Abhinav Bhattacharjee as Amod Pandit
- Ritik Ghanshani as Prakash “Panther” Rajput
- Lakshay Kheterpal as Faisal Ali
- Bryan Lawrence as George Red
- Tim Hudson as John Peterson, author of Battle for Pakistan, The Air War of 1965 (fictionalisation of John Fricker)[15]
- Fayaz Khan as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Duck”
- Karan Chaudhary as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Goat”
- Ramakrishna Dixit as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Rhino”
- Ankit Kaushik as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Owl”
- Sagar Rana as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Scorpio”
- Vishal Jinwal as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Shark”
- Lakshay Chawla as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Spider”
- Abhishek Mahendra as Tiger Squadron Pilot “Fox”
- Lal Bahadur Shastri as himself (archival footage)
Our General Review
Sky Force (2025) – A Review
Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur’s Bollywood action film Sky Force sets out to pay tribute to the Indian Air Force’s bravery during the Indo-Pak War in 1965. With Akshay Kumar playing Wing Commander Kumar Om Ahuja and Veer Pahariya, a newcomer, playing Squadron Leader T. The film, directed by Krishna “Tabby” Vijaya, is based on real-life events, specifically India’s first airstrike in retaliation against Pakistan’s Sargodha airbase.
Sky Force promises to combine patriotism, aerial action, and emotional weight with a supporting cast that includes Sara Ali Khan, Nimrat Kaur, and Sharad Kelkar. It claims to be a tribute to unsung heroes and will be released on January 24, 2025, the day before India’s Republic Day. However, does it reach new heights or stalls in mid-flight? The response is somewhere in the middle. Strengths: A Grounded Take on Patriotism.
Sky Force’s moderation in its patriotism is one of its best features. This film chooses a tone that is more measured rather than the jingoism and chest-thumping rhetoric of many recent Bollywood war films. It emphasizes the humanity of its soldiers—both Indian and Pakistani—highlighting mutual respect amid conflict. A notable scene features Ahuja invoking the Geneva Conventions to treat a captured enemy pilot with dignity, a refreshing nod to a bygone era of cinematic warfare that prioritizes honor over hostility. This subtlety marks a welcome change from the genre’s recent tendency toward open hostility. Akshay Kumar anchors the film with a performance that balances toughness and vulnerability.
As Ahuja, he brings gravitas to the role of a mentor haunted by loss, excelling in the emotional and dramatic sequences more than the action beats. His ability to evoke tears—particularly in the second half, where the film shifts into an investigative drama—reminds viewers why he remains a Bollywood stalwart. Even though they only get a small amount of screen time, the supporting cast—including Nimrat Kaur as Ahuja’s wife Preeti and Sharad Kelkar as the Pakistani pilot Ahmed Hussain—add depth. Visually, the film boasts impressive moments.
The cinematography by Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran captures the grandeur of aerial combat with precision, and the action choreography by Craig Macrae and Parvez Shaikh delivers some gripping sequences. The 125-minute runtime is brisk, avoiding the bloat common in action epics, and A. Sreekar Prasad’s editing keeps the pacing tight. A moving tribute to India’s soldiers is left for audiences at the conclusion, which features a montage of real and film heroes. Weaknesses: Execution Turbulence Despite its noble intentions, Sky Force struggles to fully take flight due to several shortcomings.
The first half, where the mentor-protégé dynamic and the mission are established, feels uneven and overly familiar. Although the aerial combat scenes are ambitious, their CGI quality is inconsistent—sometimes thrilling, sometimes resembling old video game cutscenes. The visual effects lack the realism and tension necessary to truly immerse the audience in the dogfights when compared to Hollywood standards or even Fighter from last year.
The first appearance of Tabby by Veer Pahariya is mixed. He plays the role with a lot of intensity and charisma, but his lack of experience shows, especially in how he delivers dialogue and how emotional he can be. Due to the film’s focus on Akshay Kumar, Tabby, which is supposed to be the story’s heart, is reduced to a supporting character. This imbalance undermines the narrative’s potential to fully explore the younger pilot’s heroism, a criticism echoed by some who felt the real-life inspiration deserved more prominence.
Carl Austin, Sandeep Kewlani, Aamil Keeyan Khan, and Niren Bhatt are credited with writing the screenplay, which is engaging but weak in some places. The emotional beats, particularly those involving Sara Ali Khan as Tabby’s pregnant wife Geeta, feel underdeveloped, and the dialogue lacks the punchy one-liners that could have elevated key moments. Particularly, Khan’s role is not used to its full potential, serving more as a sentimental prop than a fully developed character.
The narrative flow is disrupted by the misplaced dance number “Rang,” which is a concession to mass appeal that goes against the otherwise serious tone of the film. Tanishk Bagchi’s soundtrack is mixed; while “Maaye” has an emotional impact, other songs don’t stick. Themes and Impact
Thematically, Sky Force grapples with duty, sacrifice, and the cost of war. A Pakistani pilot’s account ultimately brings Tabby’s bravery to light, rather than demonizing the adversary.
Instead, it provides a rare glimpse of cross-border cooperation. It stands out from the recent wave of hyper-nationalism due to its nuance and focus on a forgotten hero. However, the film’s desire to combine action and investigative drama causes a tonal shift that does not always work. The shift to Ahuja’s bureaucratic struggle in the second half is compelling, but the aerial spectacle feels like it’s long gone.
Despite its admirable efforts, Sky Force does not quite achieve its lofty goals. Technical flaws, an uneven first half, and a star-centric approach that occasionally overshadows its story hold it back from being a fitting Republic Day watch that blends patriotism with heartfelt moments.
Fans of Akshay Kumar will find a lot to cheer about, and Veer Pahariya’s debut shows promise, but it doesn’t change the war genre in Bollywood. Despite the sincerity and emotional payoff of this cinematic flight, one can’t help but wish it had soared higher. Rating: 3.5/5
a steady display of bravery that does not quite break the sound barrier.
People Review (Taken from Google)
