Tejas Review: This Patriotic action drama is high on ambition but low on execution
Tejas Movie Rating: 2 Stars
Watched Tejas movie on Zee5. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Anshul Chauhan, Vishak Nair and Varun Mitra
Director: Sarvesh Mevara
Release Date: 27th October 2023 in cinemas & 5th January 2024 on Zee5
Story: Movie begins when wing commander Tejas Gill (Kangana Ranaut) her colleague Arfa (Anshul Chauhan) are about to get suspended after they save an officer Vivek (Kashyap Shangari) from a prohibited area in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They are slated to be court-martialed for insubordination.
Before their trial, however, they come to know that their fellow cadet at the academy Prashant (Vishak Nair) has been caught as a spy in Pakistan. Videos of being nabbed are viral on the internet. She watched the videos and realized that he has used Morse code to send his location, which is Mir Ali. Tejas informs about it to the IAF chief R K Panicker (Ashish Vidyarthi).
She also requests him to allow her to go to Pakistan for this rescue mission, but he denied due to her past trauma as she is still under the trauma of losing her parents, brother and boyfriend Ekveer (Varun Mitra) during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Panicker discussed about Tejas from his academy teacher (Sunit Tandon) who is also his friend.
After his recommendation he allows Tejas to lead the rescue mission where she goes with her colleague Arfa. While in Pakistan both come to know that plans are afoot to bomb the recently inaugurated Ram temple in Ayodhya. What happens next is all about this movie.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Story
3. Length
Negatives
1. Cinematography
2. Screenplay
3. Music
4. Direction
5. Climax
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this one on OTT as trailer looks good in parts only and there is nothing new in the story.
An Indian Air Force fighter pilot is on a daring mission to rescue a hostage from terrorists. The kidnap is also related to an impending attack on India. Will the protagonist and her co-pilot save the nation?
Tejas story has all the trappings of a blockbuster. The heroic act of bravery keeps the film engaging throughout. It leaves an indelible mark on while watching the film. The entire first half is choppy, but the second half does provide respite though. The action sequences and the climax make up for a lot of the mess that was made in the first half. Anshul Chauhan is show stealer and delivers a brilliant performance despite supporting cast while Kangana is good in the 2nd half and at the end. The other good part, which needs to be pointed out, is how the film does not villainize a particular community like a lot of recent releases have done. It is balanced in that approach at least. The film could have been a good example of women empowerment too. The film is crisp and short. However, it would have been better if the film had a longer run giving it more space to explore the story.
On the flipside, first half oscillates between the present and the past and tries to give a background to Tejas Gill. Not only does Kangana’s performance disappoint highly here, but the bad VFX makes it even worse. The makers knew right from the start that the film was about the Airforce, so aircrafts looking like toy planes being flown on a green-screen-turned-to-sky is unforgivable. The film defies logic and how. After a rocking intro scene, the film falls when it’s shown that Tejas is the only one in her class to know about the Tejas aircraft. But the fact is that any IAF aspirant would know these basic details. Later, Tejas is the only one among all the defense officials in the country to guess that Prashant has used Morse code to send his location. The manner in which Tejas hides the aircrafts at the Pakistani airport is a smart idea but looks childish on screen. Sarvesh Mewara’s direction lacks fire. A rescue operation which neither draws applause from the audience nor makes them moist-eyed stands bleak chances of creating an impact.
Overall, movie suffers due to a lack of logic and too many cinematic liberties. It is a valiant attempt towards championing inclusion of women in combat roles, the half-baked nature of the film cushions the impact of its message. A tighter screenplay would have made the movie more impactful. My view on this movie Not Recommended.
For more Bollywood and Cricket updates visit my page on Facebook Durgesh Tiwary’s View and website Cricket Movie Website