Tejas movie review: Kangana Ranaut’s aviation thriller fails to be love at first flight.
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Varun Mitra, Anshul Chauhan, Ashish Vidyarthi
Director: Sarvesh Mewara
Writers: Sarvesh Mewara
At one point in the film, Kangana Ranaut’s character Tejas Gill says, “Mera dil se niklega boring ho jayega, tumhe lecture lagega.” Unfortunately, her latest release turns out to be exactly this! Despite a promising idea and a talented performer like her, the aviation flick barely soars high in the sky; blame it on the wobbly screenplay and abysmal direction.
What’s Yay: Kangana Ranaut, Anshul Chauhan
What’s Nay: Screenplay, direction, editing
Story
Tejas opens with Wing Commander Tejas Gill (Kangana Ranaut) coming to the rescue of a male pilot who gets washed ashore a 50000-year-old tribal infested island. While her ‘heroic’ act saves the man’s life, she gets rebuked by her seniors for defying the orders.
Meanwhile, through a series of flashbacks, we learn about Tejas’ ‘painful’ past and what made her ‘rock-solid’ in present times. There is even an insipid love track involving Ekveer (Varun Mitra), a popstar which gives the makers a chance to add songs to the film.
While there is a sword dangling over Tejas’ head post her previous rescue mission, she undertakes another assignment named ‘Mission Tejas’ wherein she has to rescue an Indian spy who has been held hostage by a few Extremists in the middle of a desert. Why Tejas? Because like one of the characters in the film says, “Mission aasan hain toh bilkul mat bhejna. Lekin khatarnak ho, dangerous ho, aisa lege ki yeh kaam kaun karega toh zaroor bhejna.”
From smuggling Indian jets on Pakistani land in a Norwegian plane ala Mission Impossible style to breaking the fourth wall to give a crash course on patriotism, Kangana’s Tejas is a one-woman army!
Direction
While we often see our male heroes playing saviour on screen, Sarvesh Mewara’s Tejas does come across as a refreshing change with its role-reversal and a mainstream heroine calling the shots in the film. Sadly, there’s where the good part ends in Tejas.
Director Sarvesh Mewara who is also the writer of this Kangana Ranaut starrer fails to concoct an engaging script. With a theme like this, one would expect him to take us on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case here. His rudimentary direction further fails to spring any surprise in this journey which is filled with several turbulences.
Except for Kangana Ranaut’s character Tejas, the supporting characters are barely made of flesh and blood. The climax of the film also completely falls flat. It is said that every story needs a strong villain to make the hero shine brighter. Sadly, the baddies in Tejas are all things hollow.
Performances
Kangana Ranaut is turbo-charged in the film right from the start and tries to elevate Sarvesh Mewara’s dull writing in every possible way. However, the repetitive air combat thriller allows her to shine only in sparks. On the other hand, Kangana’s chemistry with Varun Mitra does not leave any impact. The latter too, doesn’t engage you much.
Anshul Chauhan brings in some comic relief and is promising in her part. Seasoned actor Ashish Vidyarthi hardly gets any scope to display his acting prowess.
ALSO READ: Chandramukhi 2: Kangana Ranaut Has This To Say About Comparisons With Jyotika
Technical Aspects
Expect no adrenaline rush as Hari K Vedantam serves us just ordinary frames. The shoddy VFX pulls down the film by several notches. The shoddy editing rubs salt into your wounds.
Music
When it comes to the music department, the songs in Kangana Ranaut starrer Tejas disrupt the narrative and lack a recall value.
Verdict
In one of the scenes in Tejas, a character is heard saying, “Pehle apne aap ko convince karo baaki sab convinced ho jaayege.” If only the makers had not downplayed the audience’s intelligence! This Kangana Ranaut film explodes mid-air.
