Story
Arjun Dev (Varun Tej) is a maverick fighter jet pilot in the Indian Air Force. He is seen as a trouble by his superiors, but they can't get rid of him because he has always produced results despite taking radical approaches. The story of the film is about how Arjun Dev leads and succeeds in missions following Pulwama attack on February 14 in 2019.

Artists Performance

Varun Tej has given an earnest performance as a maverick fighter pilot. He is extremely believable and looks the part. Manushi Chillar is very good as a wife and an IAF officer. Navdeep shines in a cameo. Ruhani Sharma sparkles and does an impressive work despite it playing a relatively small role. Abhinav Gomatam is good as a flight engineer. Paresh Pahuja is fine in a key role.

Story - screenplay - direction: Debutant director Shakti Pratap Singh Hada has got inspired by 3 real incidents (Pulwama attacks, Balakot Strikes and the retaliation by Pak). He has also used a couple of fictional elements (Code Name Vajra and Target Nehru). The entire story revolves around these five incidents. You can some influence of Topgun Maverick for this film. The screenplay writers used classic screenplay technique. They have shown how Vajra has failed and affected the lives of three people involved in it during the initial scenes. And the main lead uses the same technique as a surprise element during climax. However, there is redundancy in terms of the events in movies as films like Fighter and Article 370 (recently released films) dealt with Pulwama attacks and Balakot strikes. The relationship between the lead pair (as Husband and wife) in personal space is not established in depth. The hilarious scene of jamming the radio and playing a love song is pretty well written.

Other departments: Background Music scored by Mickey J Meyer is very good. Cinematography by Hari K Vedantam is commendable. I liked the way wide-angle lenses are used while showing the Pakistani fighter jet pilot (wide-angle shot shows cockpit and wings in an awkward way and gives you an eerie feeling). Dialogues written by Sai Madhav Burra are fine. Editing by Naveen Nooli is alright. It should have been more crisp. Production design by Avinash Kolla is decent. Graphics are fine, but should be better in blast scenes. Production values by Sony Pictures and Renaissance Pictures are good.

Analysis: Operation Valentine is a niche film about aerial combat and is based on real events. Going by the story (as it happens in Gwalior) and orientation, this movie appears more like a proper Hindi film. Hence, watching it in Telugu gives you a feeling of watching a Hindi dubbed film despite having prominent Telugu actors. This is definitely not a typical Telugu film, but has some engaging elements in it. You may give it a try if you enjoy films from different genres.