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| Image courtesy: Wikipedia |
Kuwait, 1990. Saddam Hussain's invasion of Kuwait left 170,000 Indians homeless, stranded in a war zone. Running low on supplies, with no travel documents these souls were in a desperate situation - until a few Indian businessmen in Kuwait, with the help of the Indian Government and Air India organized the largest evacuation operation known in history. Over a period of 63 days and 488 flights, more than a 100,000 Indian nationals were airlifted from Amman to Mumbai. 'Airlift' is the story of this evacuation and the people who made it possible!
Akshay Kumar is Ranjit Katyal, a businessman who lives in Kuwait with his wife, Amrita, and daughter, Simi. A ruthless tycoon with connections in both the Iraqi and Kuwaiti governments, Ranjit thinks of himself as Kuwaiti - until the invasion, when he is stripped of everything but his identity as an Indian. In a city overrun by the conquering Iraqi soldiers, Ranjit is stopped on his way to the embassy, and his driver is brutally shot. Shocked to the core, Ranjit is forced to re-evaluate his priorities - and rather than escaping with this family, he decides to stay, to rally his fellow countrymen and to help in any way he can...
Akshay Kumar is at the top of his game here - a remarkably restrained performance - if you're looking for the Khiladi, this is not the movie for it! He is the suave businessman, the anguished husband, the empathetic employer, and finally, the reluctant messiah for all the refugees. Nimrat Kaur is just as perfect as Akshay - her initial disdain for the unwashed masses, her perplexity at her husband's change of heart, and then the dawning realization and support for Ranjit's quest - very impressive! As for Kumud Mishra, I wouldn't be surprised to find that he actually is a career bureaucrat - he is Joint Secretary Kohli!! And again the wonderful character arc - a disinterested paper-pusher to a sympathetic bystander to an officer with conviction, running pillar-to-post to help the stranded Indians - Mishra holds his own in a big way!
The film stays on an even, understated keel - there is no rah-rah patriotism, no flag-waving, no over-the-top histrionics! Very realistic scenes - like when Kohli has to convince Air India pilots to fly into a war zone. No hyperbole, no vein-popping dialogues - just a simple appeal to do the right thing. Or when Ranjit's cavalcade to Jordan is stopped by Iraqi soldiers - yes, there is a fight - but this is no superstar demolishing dozens with a sweep of his arm. Just a desperate man at the end of his tether, who will do anything to keep his family safe. The only grandiose gesture is the Indian flag being raised at the Amman airport - and even that is tastefully done!
Drawbacks? Well, I would say this film is about 25 years too late! It brings to light a glorious page in contemporary Indian history, but these events happened so long ago, it is difficult to find an emotional connect. The pace doesn't help - there is no surprise ending, of course - a tighter, tenser built-up, a little bit of masala would have helped here! I also would have liked to see more of the pilots - they were a big part of this rescue operation, and the film does not give them their due! The film ends with original newspaper articles and photos of all the people involved - it would have been interesting to see a couple of then-and-now refugee stories!
None of this takes away from the film, though. Airlift has its heart in the right place - I found myself tearing up in quite a few places (yes, I'll admit it - movies make me cry!)!! Watch it, this is a film that will make you proud to be Indian!!
