Fighter (2024 film)

Fighter is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Siddharth Anand, based on a story he wrote with Ramon Chibb. Produced under Viacom18 Studios and Marflix Pictures, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor, and serves as the first installment in a planned aerial action franchise.

The film was announced on 10 January 2021. The pre-production was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Principal photography finally began in November 2022 with filming proceeding in various schedules across Assam, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai, and wrapped in late-October. Real life Indian Air Force cadets worked for the film. The film has references to 2019 Pulwama attack, 2019 Balakot airstrike and 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes. The film seems to be inspired quite a bit by the Top Gun movie, although creating enough difference for Indian audiences. The film's soundtrack album composed by Vishal–Shekhar consists of five songs. Satchith Paulose serves as the film's cinematographer. The visual effects are handled by DNEG.

Fighter was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on 30 September 2023 but production delays caused the release date to slip to 25 January 2024, coinciding with the Republic Day weekend. The film received mixed reviews and has grossed ₹337.2 crore (US$42 million) worldwide to rank as the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024.