Indian Air Force Day 2021: Rang De Basanti, Veer Zara, Border, Vijeta- 10 Films That Celebrated The Valour Of The Armed Forces

Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on this day because on October 8, 1932, IAF was officially raised as a part of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. They celebrate it by putting up a show of vintage and important aircrafts. Now, Bollywood has seen several movies based on IAF and it didn't just restrict itself to the silver screens alone. Indian Television too had its fair share of Air force stories. But Hindi films have celebrated it in more ways than one. From showing their valour, their patriotism, their struggles to how at times they are at a disadvantage, filmmakers have tried to incorporate them in their stories. So on this day, let's talk about 10 of the most popular ones. Shah Rukh Khan & Preity Zinta’s Veer-Zaara Completes 15 Years: 4 Reasons Why It Is SRK’s Most Romantic Movie!

Veer Zara

While this Yash Chopra-directed blockbuster essentially is about a doomed love story of an Indian man and a Pakistani woman, the film showed some interesting scenes with Air Force rescue. Shah Rukh Khan looked quite dashing in the uniform.

Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti is a revolution, not just a film. The amount of nuances this one film has addressed is simply outstanding. R Madhavan plays flight lieutenant Ajay Singh Rathod with Air Force who dies in a crash after his MIG-21 jet malfunctions. The politics behind it all gets explored here which makes RDB more than just a coming-of-age stories of listless young guys. Rang De Basanti Replay: 10 Things We Learnt While Re-Watching Aamir Khan, Siddharth and Soha Ali Khan’s Film During Lockdown

Border

Many would argue that the Indian Air Force was made to look helpless in the better part of the film but you can't deny that at the end, they are once who helped in winning the war. It's not about how long one has contributed, it's about how much and what.

Vijeta 

Vijeta released in 1982 and had some breathtaking visuals of combat aircrafts in action. Starring Shashi Kapoor's son Kunal Kapoor and Supriya Pathak in the lead along with the senior Kapoor and Rekha, Vijeta is easily one of the best shot movies on Indian Air Force. It takes the route of a young man finding his calling in the armed forces.

Agnipankh

The movie starred Jimmy Sheirgill, Samee Dharamadhikari, Rahul Dev and Shamita Shetty. It talks about a mission taken up by the air force and how they accomplish it, navigating a lot of spies. 

Bhuj- The Pride Of India

Although Bhuj-The Pride Of India is probably the weakest movie made on IAF ever, it is inspired from a real life incident where an IAF airfield was built by the women of the surrounding villages led by Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik. Terrible writing and faulty execution finished its chances of every becoming a great story.

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl

A story about the one of the first female Air Force pilot of India and a Kargil great, Gunjan Saxena picks up a softer narrative to explain how having a woman in the team impacted this section of the armed force. Janhvi Kapoor did a commendable job, ably guided by Pankaj Tripathi.

Hindustan Ki Kasam

The movie revolves around IAF's mission to destroy the Pakistani Air Force's radar that was blocking communication of radios of Indian soldiers during combat. It is a distinctive depiction of IAF's role in winning the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Mausam

Mausam is a romantic movie but hero is an IAF pilot. So you must have guessed that there would be sequences where he is shown fighting off enemies.

Sangam

A romantic movie again with a backdrop of armed forces, Raj Kapoor joins the IAF to woo Vyjanthimala who liked Rajendra Kumar instead. While there's more of romance and the tension thereof, it is perhaps one of the few movies in those which had IAF in the narrative.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 08, 2021 08:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).