Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl starring Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, and Angad Bedi in the lead received mixed reviews. The biopic on the life of the first Indian Air Force pilot focusses on the struggle of Gunjan Saxena and her participation in the Kargil War.
Overall Review For Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
A few of the leading media channels have appreciated the storyline and its projection. On the other hand, critics have heaped praises on Pankaj Tripathi for his portrayal of Anup Saxena.
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Going by the reviews one can conclude that he even helps Janvhi soar in her titular road. While the actress is good in emotional scenes, she needs to improve while showing aggression, anger, and passion.
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Angad Bedi on the other hand as Gunjan's brother comes up with a decent performance. Be it dancing with his sister, showing his concern, or acknowledging her during the climax, Angad looks fit for the role.
This Dharma Productions movie right from the beginning makes its intention clear starting off with the Kargil War 1999 backdrop. Other characters like Ayesha Raza Mishra as the mother of Gunjan Saxena or Manav Vij as her boss do full justice to their roles.
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While IMDb gives it a rating just below 4, News.18 gives it 3 out of 5. Of course, there are a few reviews that appreciate the work of Janhvi, leading film critics think that the actress needs to improve performance-wise.
Is Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl A Hit?
Since the movie released on Netflix very recently, it is difficult to declare whether it is a hit or not. Also, more often the views for an OTT release increase during weekends. So it is too early to say anything about that. But yes, Karan Johar did manage to earn profit with this flick despite releasing it on webspace instead of theater.
According to reports, the makers made the film on a tight-budget of Rs.40 crores. They sold it to Netflix at Rs.50 crores. It means Karan Johar earned a profit of Rs. 10 crores. At the same time, music and satellite rights will also help him earn an additional 8 to 10 crores. So with a profit margin of around 19 to 20 crores, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is already a hit in terms of earnings.
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But the important test is regarding viewership. And most probably by the weekend, it will be clear whether the movie has been able to attract enough views or not. Sushant Singh Rajput fans have already decided to boycott the movie. Importantly, with the nepotism wave currently going around on social media, it will be surprising if the movie really gets a good response and more likes than dislikes.
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Tussle With IAF Can Be Controversial
Since the movie is a biopic, it depicts real-life incidences from the lives of Gunjan Saxena. However, the Indian Air Force today objected to a few of the scenes from the movie. IAF today sent a letter to the Censor Board of Film Certification citing its "undue negative portrayal" in the movie. In its letter also sent to Dharma Productions, IAF says, "Dharma Productions had agreed to represent Indian Air Force (IAF) with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF officers. "
Furthermore, in its letter, IAF says, "When the trailer of the movie was released recently, it was observed that "certain scenes and dialogues in the movie and its trailer, which was forwarded to this office for viewing, have been found to portray the IAF in an undue negative light." IAF further says that in its attempt to glorify the character of Gunjan Saxena the makers have added some misleading and inappropriate scenes in the movie.
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These are serious allegations and coming from IAF can prove disastrous for Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. Netizens against nepotism will now get yet another reason to boycott this movie that so aptly describes the struggle of a woman in the field dominated by men.
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IAF is one of the first among all the three Indian Defense services to offer positions to women officers in branches other than medicine. Rather now both the genders can work in all the branches of IAF which also includes the Fighter stream of Flying Branch.