Deepika Padukone in the film. (courtesy: DeepikaPadukone)
Ahead of Fighter release, director Siddharth Anand addressed the issue of Deepika Padukone's absence from the film's promotional events. Deepika, who plays the character of Squadron Leader Minal Rathore in the film, didn't attend the trailer launch event last week. Siddharth Anand told Bollywood Hungama, "This is a promotional strategy that we have taken. You will start seeing Deepika from tomorrow (January 23) everywhere. People put a lot of conjectures into things. Deepika was supposed to come for the trailer launch, but she was under the weather. And now she is going to be everywhere; our strategy is such."
Siddharth Anand admitted the promotions would remain incomplete without Deepika Padukone. He added, "Deepika and Hrithik's pair is one of the major highlights. And it's a huge excitement for me as a filmmaker to see both of them (together). So, I can imagine that even the audience is waiting for (her). You will start seeing them closer to the release. Also, we didn't want too much of Hrithik and Deepika before the release. We wanted people to enjoy them on the big screen. We didn't want that saturation."
The trailer of Fighter released last week. The trailer is filled with some high-octane aerial action sequences. In the trailer, Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and the Fighter team are deployed on a mission after an airstrike from across the border hits the nation. Sharing the trailer, Deepika Padukone wrote, "FighterTrailer Out Now!#FighterOn25thJanuary releasing worldwide.Experience #Fighter on the big screen in IMAX 3D." Take a look:
Fighter marks Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan's first collaboration. Deepika has previously worked with Siddharth Anand in the 2008 film Bachna Ae Haseeno and the 2023 hit Pathaan, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham. Hrithik Roshan and Siddharth Anand have collaborated on projects like Bang Bang and War.