Airlift: A story of courage said with perfection

We always complain about the conditions of our country taking the facilities given to us for granted, well “Airlift” shows us whatever our country has given us should be cherished.

“Airlift” is based on the real life events wherein a Kuwait based Indian businessman with the help of the Indian Government took the responsibility of getting back 1,70,000 Indians from Kuwait when Sadam Hussain invaded Kuwait. It tells the story of Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar) a successful businessman in Kuwait who takes the onus of 1,70,000 Indians stranded in Kuwait to send them back to India, and with the help of the Indian Government succeeds in getting back 1,70,000 Indians from Kuwait….

Written by Raja Krishna Menon, Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair & Rahul Nangia the screenplay chronicles the events which led to the rescue of the Indians stranded in Kuwait. The writers have been successful in re-creating the events but the biggest plus about the writing is its characterization; each character is written and conceived well. Though there could have been more tension depicted during the attack which is a bit of a downer, the other thing which could have better is the climax, it could have been a bit more nail biting. But otherwise overall the writing does complete justice to the events, especially when the flag is hoisted in the Jordan Airport at the climax, your heart will fill up with emotion….

But the biggest highlight of the movie is its performances. Akshay Kumar’s act as Ranjit Katiyal a shrewd businessman who decides to stand by for his fellow Indians is the best performance of the movie. After “Baby” Akshay yet again proves with his performance in “Airlift” that he is not an actor who can be ignored. With every movie Akshay is raising his bar as an actor showing his versatility. Nimrat Kaur as Amrita Katyal, Ranjit’s better half gives a power packed performance; her whole transformation from a snooty rich house wife to a woman who stands for his man in his endeavour is natural and believable. Nimrat’s performance compliments Akshay’s portrayal, and both look good as a pair, I hope more film makers cast them again. Innamul Haq as the Iraqi major gives a memorable performance, his dialect to his body language everything is perfect to the “T”, definitely an actor to watch out for in future. Prakash Belawadi as George the grumpy old man yet again gives a stellar performance after “Talvar”; he convincingly portrays the irritating character. Purab Kohli also shines in small role of Ibrahim, most of his performance is through his eyes, another actor who has been royally ignored by the industry though he has the talent. Another brilliant actor Kumud Mishra as the External Affairs Joint Secretary Sanjeev Kohli does an exemplary job, yet another actor who has been ignored for long. Rest of the ensemble cast of Nissar Khan, Ninad Kamat, Surender Pal, Kaizaad Kotwal do an excellent job, thus raising the standard of the movie.

Priya Seth’s cinematography complements the narration and brings that extra edge to the proceedings….

Director Raja Krishna Menon after relatively smaller movies like “Bas Yun Hi” & “Bara Anna” comes to his fore with “Airlift”. It is not an easy task to adapt a real life event, but Raja does it with complete conviction and succeeds as well, especially in extracting the performances from the actors. Thanks to Raja that a lot of good actors got a chance to showcase their talent in this movie. Well Raja Krishna Menon is definitely a director to watch out for…

Though Music does not play too much of part in “Airlift” but one song which needs a mention is the song “Tu Bhoola Jise” sung beautifully by KK and music by Amaal Mallik and the romantic “Soch Na Sake” sung by Arijit Singh, Tulsi Kumar and Amaal Mallik and music by Amaal Mallik…

“Airlift” tells the inspiring story of courage with panache, definitely a MUST watch, I will go with 4 stars….

Movie Rating: (4 / 5)