Vijeta

Vijeta
Directed by	Govind Nihlani
Produced by	Shashi Kapoor
Written by	Dilip Chitre Satyadev Dubey
Starring	Shashi Kapoor Rekha Amrish Puri Kunal Kapoor Supriya Pathak Om Puri
Music by	Ajit Varman
Distributed by	Film-valas International
Release date(s)	1982
Running time	4909.86m (18 reels)
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Vijeta is a 1982 Hindi film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Govind Nihalani. It stars Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Kunal Kapoor, Amrish Puri and Supriya Pathak. The movie also stars K.K. Raina, Raja Bundela and Shafi Inamdar who went to be notable support actors in Bollywood movies.

Plot

Vijeta (The Victor) is the coming of age story of Angad (Kunal Kapoor). Confused like any other teenager trying to find himself and caught in between the marital problems of his mother Neelima (Rekha) and father Nihal (Shashi Kapoor). It is time for him to decide what he wants to do with his life. To select a profession and be someone, Angad chooses to become a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force. What follows is his struggle to become a victor both with his self and the outer world. One side plot, Angad is attracted to Anna Verghese (Supriya Pathak), who is the daughter of his flying instructor (Amrish Puri). Angad must learn to adapt to flying, leaving his mom and dad for long periods of time, as well as try and woo Anna who helps him overcome his fears and realize his potential as a fighter pilot. Plot of movie delicately tackles the issue of religious harmony. Main plot of the movie contains such complex undertones; Nihal and Neelima are Hindu, Angad a Sikh and Anna a Christian, and Angad's fellow officers represent all religion.

The film is notable for some rarely seen aerial photography of combat aircraft active with the IAF in 1980s. The central character of Angad himself is a MiG-21 pilot and is shown flying the aircraft in ground attack role in the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Much of the movie, including the climax involving a MiG-21bis, was shot at Pune. The IAF No.4 Squadron (the 'Oorials') provided the pilots and planes for the film's aerial sequences. The movie included good color footage of the Oorials aircraft in flight and in operations.

Cast

• Shashi Kapoor as Nihal Singh
• Rekha as Neelima Singh
• Supriya Pathak as Anna Verghese
• Kunal Kapoor as Angad
• Amrish Puri as Wing Commander Verghese, the Chief Instructor
• Om Puri as Arvind
• Dina Pathak as Angad's grandmother (Biji)
• Shafi Inamdar as Group Captain Parulkar

Facts

• The "senior pilots of the Indian Air Force" who are credited with providing assistance with the aerial photography were drawn from No. 4 Squadron, IAF ("The Fighting Oorials"). It was their MIG-21Bis' that were used in the aerial combat sequences and much of the film was shot at their then base in Poona/Pune.
• The I.N.S. Mysore seen in the film was a WW2 British Fiji Class Cruiser, H.M.S. Nigeria that was sold to the Indian Navy in 1957. The ship was decommissioned soon after the film was completed. The current (2006) I.N.S. Mysore is a newer vessel.
• The aircraft that the pilots train on are domestically produced HAL HJT-16 Kirans.

Filming locations

• Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
• Air Force Station, Pune, Maharashtra, India
• National Defence Academy, Khadakswala, Pune, Maharashtra, India
• R.K. Studios, Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Reception

Film World magazine rated the film "Good" and wrote, "Vijeta is perhaps the first film of its kind, a film which shows the Indian Air Force, its gallant men and their life in true colours." According to Asiaweek, "Vijeta is a tribute to the IAF in celebration of its golden jubilee last year".

Awards

• Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award - Govind Nihalani
• Filmfare Best Editing Award - Keshav Naidu
• Filmfare Best Sound Award - Hitendra Ghosh

External links

• Vijeta at the Internet Movie Database