Siddarth Anand, the director of the Bollywood action movie Fighter, has addressed claims that the movie is a rip-off of Top Gun. The new movie was written by Ramon Chibb and features an ensemble cast that includes Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, and Anil Kapoor. The movie follows elite pilots from the Indian Air Force being assembled to form the Air Dragons, a squadron that combats militant activity in the Srinagar Valley.
Anand recently sat down for an interview with zoom. When asked about the online comparisons between the Fighter trailer and Top Gun, he said that “they will call it Top Gun because they have no reference point.” He went on to say that there are “only that many things you can do in action” and the West and East can sometimes echo one another without ripping each other off. He insists that once people see the movie, the Top Gun comparisons will end “in the first five minutes.” Read Anand’s full quote and see the full video interview below:
I think it’s inevitable. So, as a filmmaker, you have to be prepared for… if you make a film on planes, they will call it Top Gun because they have no reference point, so they believe that… we are not so creative and we will do things that will be a ripoff. I think… we need to start looking at our films with a little bit more respect and not constantly believe that things are being ripped off. People do get inspired, even in the West, by content that is created in the East. I have many instances where… I did some sequences and those sequences were similar to a film that came out later in a very very big franchise in the West. I’m not saying they copied us, and there’s no way they would copy us, so let’s be real. There are only that many things you can do in action, and there will be overlaps. You just gotta do it with an X factor that makes it different, and we need to just start being, as an audience and as a people on social media, a little more proud of your own country and your country’s work and stop thinking that everything is inspired or copied from the West. Watch the film and you’ll realize Fighter is such a desi film. That Top Gun conversation is going to be bitten to dust in the first five minutes of the film.
Why is Fighter Being Compared to Top Gun?
Despite Anand’s claims, the 2024 Bollywood movie can’t escape being compared to Top Gun. However, there are likely quite a few reasons for this, even if the movie largely doesn’t resemble the Hollywood action franchise outside of a few superficial elements due to the fact that they are based around fighter pilots. The first is that, intentionally or not, the trailer showcased the most Top Gun-esque elements of Fighter, including pilots in helmets and aviators walking slowly through the airfield while guitar-heavy music plays.
Another reason is the titanic success of 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, which became the second highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide. While the wait for the sequel Top Gun 3 stretches longer, the cultural vacuum for a spiritual follow-up seems to have been filled by Fighter. In fact, the later 2022 fighter pilot movie Devotion couldn’t escape constant comparisons to Top Gun either, especially considering the fact that it also featured Maverick star Glen Powell in a lead role.
Fighter has also fallen prey to the fact that fighter pilot movies are expensive and difficult to make, leading to a dearth of them in the theatrical market. Other action subgenres like World War II movies and superhero movies are common enough that they don’t draw direct comparisons to other titles, but fighter pilot movies are released much less frequently, making them seem more similar to one another. However, those Top Gun comparisons may ultimately help the movie, as they could draw an audience that is hungry for more Top Gun movies or similar releases.
Fighter (2024)
Fighter is an action-adventure thriller directed by Siddharth Anand and released in 2024. A group of Indian Air Force pilots is assembled to create the Air Dragons, a new unit designed to deal with aerial threats, domestic and international; the film explores their highs, lows, and the battles they must carry on through to protect their country – and each other.
- Release Date
- January 25, 2024
- Director
- Siddharth Anand
- Cast
- Deepika Padukone , Hrithik Roshan , Anil Kapoor , Karan Singh Grover , Akshay Oberoi
- Runtime
- 160 Minutes
- Writers
- Ramon Chibb , Hussain Dalal , Abbas Dalal
- Studio(s)
- Viacom18 Studios , Marflix Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Viva Entertainment
