Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film directed by Sharan Sharma and produced under Dharma Productions and Zee Studios. The film stars Janhvi Kapoor as Indian Air Force pilot Gunjan Saxena, one of the first Indian female air-force pilots in combat, alongside Pankaj Tripathi and Angad Bedi in supporting roles.[3]

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
Netflix release poster
Directed bySharan Sharma
Produced byKaran Johar
Zee Studios
Hiroo Yash Johar
Apoorva Mehta
Written byNikhil Mehrotra
Sharan Sharma
StarringJanhvi Kapoor
Pankaj Tripathi
Angad Bedi
Music byScore:
John Stewart Eduri
Songs:
Amit Trivedi
CinematographyManush Nandan
Edited byNitin Baid
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • 12 August 2020 (2020-08-12)[1]
Running time
112 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Principal photography commenced in February 2019 and was wrapped up in October; it was extensively filmed across Lucknow.[4] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was unable to release theatrically and was picked up for distribution by Netflix.[5][6] It was released globally on 12 August 2020.[1]

Plot

Beginning in Lucknow, 1984, the story begins with young Gunjan Saxena in a flight along with her older brother, Anshuman. Gunjan wants to look out of the airplane window, but Anshuman doesn't let her. A kind air hostess tends to the problem and takes Gunjan to the cockpit. Looking at the cockpit immediately sparks a desire in her mind to become a pilot as she feels enthusiastic about the plane's features.

A few years later, Gunjan is congratulated for her academic excellence with her proud parents, Anup and Kirti, planning to send her to high school. Gunjan, however, wants to drop out of high school to become a pilot. Anshuman feels that women should not be in the cockpit, but Anup strongly disagrees. A firm believer of gender equality, he allows Gunjan to experiment with her desire to become a pilot. Gunjan makes multiple attempts, but these are thwarted by concerns regarding her educational qualifications and high costs, causing her to return home dejected each time. While her parents differ in their outlook towards her dream, with Kirti hoping her daughter would soon be wary and Anup insistent on allowing his daughter to pursue her dreams relentlessly, an advertisement in a newspaper for acceptance into the Indian Air Force provides Gunjan just the right opportunity for making an effort to enter the air force. Anshuman, who is himself serving in the army, completely disapproves and tells Gunjan that the Air Force isn't a place for women. She, however, ignores him, and goes ahead with the formalities, later finding out on the day of the results that she is the only female who got accepted.

During her medical tests, Gunjan learns that she is one centimeter too short and seven kilograms too much for the Air Force requirements. She is devastated by this, but learns that she can take a retest in two weeks, and discusses it with Anup, who asks her not to give up, and together they come up with a workout regime to lose weight. Across the retest, she still falls short on the height criterion, but the officers conclude that the length of her hands and legs would compensate for it, and accept her into the force. However, while Anup and Kirti are unable to contain their pride, Anshuman still remains in denial of his sister's dedication, but Gunjan decides to ignore his reservations and commences training. During her training, she finds herself subjected to several harsh realities and inconveniences due to the male-dominated order of the air force, and contemplates leaving the camp, when a crisis situation causes her to reconsider when, in 1999, the Kargil war begins, and all Air Force pilots are needed. Gunjan is determined to take part in the war, and despite Anshuman meeting her and dissuading her from participation, disregards his reservations yet again. She finds herself badly needed in a mission and proceeds with it, but is then ordered to abort because the mission is too difficult for her. She reluctantly resigns to the camp. Suddenly, news of army soldiers being heavily wounded in the battle arrives, and it is up to her to save them.

Gunjan and another pilot take separate helicopters and go over to aid the injured soldiers. Back at the camp, army soldiers ask her to abort the mission but regardless of their opinion, she proceeds. Suddenly, as the other helicopter gets shot down from an RPG attack, Gunjan rescues the other pilot and the wounded soldiers and successfully completes a risky maneuver, despite being exposed to bullets herself. After the mission and the war, she is rewarded for her courage and bravery, with Anup feeling proud of her.

Cast

Production

Principal photography for the film was commenced in February 2019, with the film being extensively shot at Lucknow.[4] The film's shooting, despite being continued for three months, was came to halt in May 2019, citing the bad weather,[8] but later resumed the same month. The first schedule of the film was completed on 24 May 2019.[9]

While the team planned to shoot few scenes at London on July, the team planned to change the location to Georgia.[10] The team planned to shoot some sequences high altitude regions of Georgia in the north eastern part of the country in a town called Kazbegi. The town is a mountainous area set over 5700 feet above sea level. Both Janhvi Kapoor and Angad Bedi have shot the sequences for maintaining fitness for their roles, being accompanied by coach Brinston Miranda.[11] Shooting of the film was wrapped up on 29 December 2019.[12]

Soundtrack
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
Soundtrack album by
Amit Trivedi
Released3 August 2020[13]
Recorded2019
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length25:24
LanguageHindi
LabelZee Music Company
Amit Trivedi chronology
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
(2019)		 Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
(2020)		 V
(2020)
External audio
Official Jukebox on YouTube

The film's music was composed by Amit Trivedi while lyrics written by Kausar Munir.

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Bharat Ki Beti"Arijit Singh4:20
2."Asmaan Di Pari"Jyoti Nooran3:52
3."Dori Tutt Gaiyaan"Rekha Bhardwaj3:51
4."Dhoom Dhadaka"Sukhwinder Singh3:12
5."Rekha O Rekha"Nakash Aziz3:38
6."Mann Ki Dori" (Male)Armaan Malik3:35
7."Mann Ki Dori" (Female)Palak Muchhal2:56
Total length:25:24

Controversies

Portrayal of Armed Forces

Authorities in the Indian Air Force (IAF) wrote a letter to the Central Board of Film Certification over the alleged "undue negative portrayal" of the IAF personnel. Pointing out that IAF was the first branch of Indian Armed Forces to allow women, the IAF conveyed that they have a gender-neutral workforce and do not propagate gender biases in their service.[14][15] IAF claimed that Johar had agreed to represent it with authenticity and "make all efforts to ensure that the film helps inspire the next generation of IAF Officers."[16] Certain scenes and dialogues in the film and its trailer were shown to have projected the IAF in bad light.[17] Many ex-army officers expressed similar concerns.[16] A lady officer and helicopter pilot of the same batch, Wing Commander Namrita Chandi also remarked that the makers had exaggerated the gender conflict.[18][19] Wing Commander Deepa Nailwal also stated the same.[20] Later, the Defense Ministry also raised concerns over the gender disparity shown in the film.[21]

Defending the portrayal of gender bias in the film, Saxena clarified that the "bias is not at an organizational level", but added that "to deny it completely speaks of a feudal mindset and undermines the grit of women officers".[22]

Nepotism

Following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl was subject to a campaign targeted against the film and its producer Karan Johar for supporting nepotism by casting Janhvi Kapoor, a member of the Kapoor dynasty, in the film.[16] In a teaser poster announcing the film's release date on Netflix, Johar and Dharma Productions were not mentioned. Commentators believed this was due to the nepotism allegations.[23]

Release

The film was scheduled to release theatrically on 13 March 2020, and was later postponed to 24 April 2020.[24] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's theatrical release was put on hold. The film's digital streaming rights were acquired by Netflix. On 9 June 2020, Netflix released a teaser video introducing Gunjan Saxena and also announcing the film's release date.[25] The film was premiered on the streaming platform on 12 August 2020.[1]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 100% based on 15 reviews.[26]

Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave the film 4 stars out of 5, and found the film to be a "deeply moving account of a remarkable woman's heartbreaks and soaring triumph".[27] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated it 3.5 out of 5 lauded Pankaj Tripathi's performance and praised the film for sparing audience a "spectacle of ungainly chest-thumping" and for presenting "good old touching tale of a girl who dared to break free from her cage and fly away – a heroine we can cheer without resorting to a blood-curdling war cry".[28] Mike McCahill of The Guardian praised Kapoor's portrayal of Saxena.[29]

References
  1. "Netflix's Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl to premiere on August 12". The Indian Express. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. "Angad Bedi joins the star cast of Gunjan Saxena's biopic, Kargil Girl". Bollywood Hungama. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. "Janhvi Kapoor shooting in Lucknow". The Times of India. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. "Confirmed: Janhvi Kapoor's Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl to release on Netflix, watch her real story in new teaser". Hindustan Times. 9 June 2020.
  6. "Janhvi Kapoor Starrer Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl to Release on Netflix". News18. 9 June 2020.
  7. Vineeta Kumar (1 August 2020). "Janhvi Kapoor Looks Promising But Pankaj Tripathi Steals The Show in Trailer of Netflix Film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl". India.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  8. "Janhvi Kapoor's Gunjan Saxena biopic shoot called off due to thunderstorm warning in Lucknow". India Today. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  9. "Janhvi Kapoor's Gunjan Saxena biopic shoot cancelled in Lucknow, here's why". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  10. "Janhvi Kapoor heads to Georgia to shoot for Gunjan Saxena biopic". The Times of India. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  11. "Details about Janhvi Kapoor and Angad Bedi's Georgia schedule for Gunjan Saxena biopic revealed". www.dnaindia.com. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  12. "Janhvi Kapoor wraps filming of Gunjan Saxena biopic, shares behind-the-scenes pics". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  13. "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jiosaavn.
  14. "Read Latest News, News Today, Breaking News, India News and Current News on Politics, Bollywood and Sports". Republic World. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  15. "Gunjan Saxena speaks about the importance of dreams, thanks IAF for helping her 'realise my dream of flying, serve the nation'". Hindustan Times. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020. The film has not been free of controversy; first, Janhvi Kapoor was at the receiving end of a lot of backlash from fans of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, over the issue of nepotism, when the trailer of the film was unveiled online. After the release of the film, while several industry figures such as Hrithik Roshan and director Anurag Kashyap were effusive in praise, the Indian Air Force wrote a letter to the Censor Board, Dharma Productions and streaming giant Netflix for portraying "the IAF in an undue negative light".
  16. "'Karan Johar promised to represent authenticity': IAF pens letter to Censor Board calling 'Gunjan Saxena' misleading". DNA India. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  17. "IAF Objects to Its 'Undue Negative Portrayal' in Gunjan Saxena Biopic, Shoots Letter to CBFC". News18. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  18. Desk, Sentinel Digital. "'Gunjan Saxena' slammed by Retired Wing Commander Namrita Chandi for 'peddling lies' - Sentinelassam". The Sentinel Assam.
  19. Ramani, Priya (14 August 2020). "Gunjan Saxena and sexism in the Indian Air Force". Livemint. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  20. "'Gunjan Saxena' Film To Make Life More Difficult For Air Force Women, Says Retd. Squadron Leader". Outlook India.
  21. "गुंजन सक्सेना में किया गया भारतीय वायुसेना का अपमान? IAF की CBFC को चिट्ठी" [Did Gunjan Saxena blew IAF's honour? IAF wrote a letter to CBFC]. aajtak.intoday.in (in Hindi). 12 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  22. Saxena, Gunjan (17 August 2020). "Blog: "Won't Let Anyone Take Away My Achievements": Gunjan Saxena On Movie Row". NDTV. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  23. "Amid Nepotism Outrage, Karan Johar's Name Goes Missing From 'Gunjan Saxena' Poster & Trailer". India Times. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  24. "Janhvi's Gunjan Saxena postponed to April 24". Hindustan Times. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  25. "Janhvi Kapoor starrer Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl to premiere on Netflix". The Indian Express. 9 June 2020.
  26. "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  27. Gunjan Saxena movie review: Deeply moving account of a remarkable woman's heartbreaks and soaring triumph Firstpost
  28. Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl Movie Review: Spry Biopic Flies Light With Passably Steady Janhvi Kapoor NDTV
  29. "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl review – Janhvi Kapoor excels as an Indian Air Force pioneer | Drama films | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com.
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