'Tejas' movie review: This Tejas doesn’t soar

Tejas

U/A: Drama, thriller
Dir: Sarvesh Mewara
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Anshul Chauhan, Ashish Vidyarthi, Rio Kapadia
Rating: 2/5

Seemingly borrowing inspiration from the historic 2016 decision when the Indian Air Force (IAF) opened its doors to women in combat positions, Tejas could have been a landmark movie. Instead, it becomes a lazily put-together showreel that makes a superheroine out of its leading lady.

The film opens with IAF pilot Tejas Gill (Kangana Ranaut) and her co-pilot Aafia (Anshul Chauhan) taking off in a chopper to rescue Wing Commander Vivek (Kashyap Shangari) after his jet crashes into the ocean. When her superiors command her to return to the base as she isn't allowed to venture into the aboriginal tribal territory, she shuts off her communication and proceeds to complete the mission, never mind that she can be sacked for breaking multiple rules. It's another thing that she is hit by a few arrows while trying to escape the tribals, who are closing in to capture them.

This sequence is enough to convey that our heroine is not only a daredevil but also a headstrong soldier who doesn't think twice before defying her superiors and breaking the rules, all for the greater good.

The narrative in the first half is interspersed with flashbacks to give us a clearer picture of how the events in Tejas's life made her the person she is, including the 26/11 terror attack in which her parents, brother, and beau Ekveer (Varun Mitra in a brief role) were gunned down in a restobar. Things appear to get interesting in the second half, when she volunteers to rescue an Indian spy captured and tortured by Pakistani extremists, led by an executioner named Sar Qalam, who is known to behead his hostages. No prizes for guessing how this film will end.

If writer-director Sarvesh Mewara deserves a pat on the back for attempting a story driven by women - as Aafia plays an equally strong and significant role in Tejas's missions - he also deserves to be pulled up for botching it all with an uninspiring screenplay. It all seems too convenient for his heroine. Be it Tejas's training to become an IAF pilot or her missions and everything in between, at no point do the on-screen proceedings have you on the edge of your seat. If that's not enough, he includes a terror threat to the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, which is set to open in January 2024. Not to forget, the enemy soldiers and terrorists are shown as dolts who are easily tricked by two IAF officers.

Ranaut plays her part with confidence, as expected. However, her performance has an undercurrent of the attitude that she is out to prove her points (yes, she has several) to her naysayers. The last time the actor became the character was in director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's sports drama, Panga (2020), when she transformed herself into a wrestler, making a comeback into the ring after seven years. Ranaut won the National Award for her performance. Here, more often than not, it seems Tejas is playing Ranaut on screen, showing detractors how it is done. Maybe the feisty actor should get back into her groove and deliver performances that rise above the script.

Chauhan impresses with her acting chops as Tejas's second-in-command. From the first scene, where she is crying about a break-up, to her over-the-top reaction during meetings with their superiors, and the climax, where she plays the character with such zeal that it makes you want to keep an eye out for her next act. Ashish Vidyarthi lends due support as IAF Chief, Mitra as Ekveer, and Rio Kapadia (who passed away last month) as R&AW Chief play to the best of their abilities.

Shashwat Sachdev's soundtrack is easy on the ears and stays with you even after you leave the theatre. At the end of it, the minuses outweigh the pluses, as a result of which this Tejas doesn't emit any radiance nor does it soar.

'YUCK ''WHATEVER '''GOOD ''''SUPER '''''AWESOME