Just 15 to 20 people for a weekend evening show on the first day of its release? Maybe the public's appetite for patriotic cinema has been overindulged lately.

As I settled into my seat with some masala popcorn, I hoped to witness a well-crafted, realistic portrayal of historical events and the bravery of our armed forces.

What I got, however, was a mixed bag -- a lot of masala without the popcorn that churned my stomach, and enough cigarette smoke on-screen to asphyxiate a chain smoker.

I couldnt help but wonder if the movie was sponsored by a tobacco company; nearly every character seemed to have a cigarette glued to their fingers in almost every scene.

If the smoke didnt suffocate you, the incessant roar of fighter jets zipping across the screen surely would.

While I'm all for thrilling action, some of the sequences had me holding my ears in disbelief. Accuracy and realism seemed to have taken a backseat.

Now, let's talk about the technical details. With today's AI, computer graphics and technology and expertise available, I expected far more convincing air combat scenes.

Instead, I was treated to glaring inaccuracies that made me cringe. Can future movie makers take cognisance of this please?

• One line mission briefings with theatrics to up the josh? Real? NO!
• Air combat training being controlled from the Air Traffic Control? Not happening.
• Jets flying with their afterburners on all the time? That's not just impractical; it's laughable.
• Pilots wearing parachutes in backpacks? Really? The aircraft flown for the mission had ejection seats and did not require parachutes to be worn on the back.
• Driving a jeep onto the runway with a torch to aid fighters in poor visibility? Not done! Creative license stretched too far.
• Shooting at falling dropping fuel tanks from the aircraft to create a fireball? That's not ingenuity; it's absurdity.
• Officers riding their bikes sans their helmets chucking half smoked cigarettes on the roadside? Surely not an 'officer-like quality!
• The CO of the unit -- Akshay Kumar gyrating at a formal function in the mess hanging onto a chandelier! Woah! No please NO!

I could go on, but you get the gist. The film's potential to inspire and educate was overshadowed by these technical flaws and a reliance on over-the-top dramatics.

Come on, Mr Directors, with your expertise and resources, surely you could have done better.

Sky Force is a noble attempt to showcase the courage and sacrifice of our IAF pilots, but it's bogged down by unnecessary embellishments and technical inaccuracies.

While it might evoke a sense of patriotism, it left this aviation enthusiast squirming in his seat for all the wrong reasons.

As we get past the halfway mark, mission Sargodha is ready for takeoff -- Akshay Kumar aka Wing Commander K O Ahuja in the lead.

The Tubby Devayya character -- Squadron Leader T Krishna Vijaya (played by debutant Veer Pahariya) -- the most daring, but undisciplined pilot with a pregnant wife (played by Sara Ali Khan) is asked to stay back at base as a 'stand-by', something that hurts this patriotic pilot's sentiments.

Vijaya, as expected, manages to steal an aeroplane, (that is grounded due to multiple bullet hits in the previous mission -- UFF UFF!) and follows the formation into Pakistan, never to return.

Did it happen that way? Well, the historians will deny this for sure.

Maybe, this was done for the 'Ooh effect; and therefore, the directors are granted a pardon for this one absurdity.

Oh, I should have let you into a secret right at the beginning. A captured Pakistani pilot (played rather well by Sharad Kelkar) interrogated by Akshay Kumar commences the narrative which then takes you back in time.

Mission successful, and we move into the present and into the 1980s.

The texture and flow of the film now changes; we see less of the IAF and more of a retired Group Captain Akshay Kumar trying to solve the riddle of the missing presumed dead comrade Vijaya.

Thanks to his investigative skills and helped by none other than the men who flew on the mission, Vijaya is awarded a posthumous Mahavir Chakra.

And this is a fact. Tubby Devayya indeed received the MVC posthumously 23 years after the event, in 1988.

The movie is centered around Akshay Kumar, Akshay Kumar and Akshay Kumar.

Reminded me of similar themes in earlier military movies which hit the screens (and flopped) in the past few years.

Overall, not much of acting talent is required in this action movie; and the supporting actors have done a decent job delivering their dialogues besides the bombs of course.

Akshay Kumar looks fit and officer-like, and carries the can as only he can.

I was particularly impressed by the small roles played by Nimrat Kaur as the commanding officer's wife and the Chief of the Air Staff played by Mohit Kumar.

Overall entertainment value 3/5, Sky Force lacks force and is not as much about the skies as I would have liked it to be.

You could go there to rekindle your patriotic feelings this Republic Day week and help the producers get back their 160 crores.

PS: I eagerly await the day when we can experience a truly great Bollywood movie rooted in pure historical facts, one that authentically showcases the essence of our armed forces for Indian audiences.