Outstanding. Review on Airlift

I have been a firm believer that movies can be beyond entertainment as there are various untouched issues that can be brought forward and presented to the viewers. But the fact of the matter is movie making is a business where not every businessman wants to explore those topics due to the fear of losing money in an attempt to show something different to the people.

However, some people still dare to take the calculated risks by thinking out of the box and go ahead with their belief in the subject, leaving the fate of the movie’s success in the hands of the viewers, which is very unpredictable these days. ‘AIRLIFT’ is one such attempt.

‘Airlift’ a movie based on true events is one such subject, which most of us didn’t know what actually happened. All most us knew was that Iraq invaded Kuwait, which lead to a war. But there was something that we Indians need to know as 170,000 Indians were evacuated from the war zone safely to India.

Akshay Kumar is a shrewd businessman who values profit & believes friendship & business are two different things. Watch out his opening scenes with the Kuwaiti Prince, followed by next scenes with his family & then in the party with his friends explains the character of Ranjit Katyal, played by Akshay Kumar for who profit explains everything.

The movie narrates the tale of how the shrewd businessman gets transformed into a human that propels him to commence the mission of evacuating all the Indians. How did he manage to do it?

This operation of evacuation that has become a part of the Guinness Book of World Records is so engrossing that is actually keeps your interest glued to the screen. Meetings of Akshay Kumar with the Iraqi General(Inamulhaq), Akshay’s trip to Iraq to meet Saddam’s minister, his continuous follow up with Indian authorities in India, journey from Kuwait to Jordan to fly to India, are the sequences that are not often seen in the Bollywood movies.

When a country is attacked, its beauty is destroyed and the scenes a day after the invasion gives the viewers a frightening look beautifully captured by camera. In fact, Priya Seth has shot the film well; especially some aerial shots are very impressive.

The songs are well written by Kumaar especially ‘Tu bhoola jisey’ is sure to moist your eyes. It re-connects the person to his nation and is very situational. Amaal Malik and Ankit Tiwari have kept the Arabic taste in mind when they composed Dil cheez tuhje dedi, commendable work.

The subject of the movie is such that a slight error in writing & incorporation of some unwanted scenes keeping the taste of certain group of viewers could spoil the show. But thankfully writers Raja Krishna Menon, Suresh Nair, Rahul Nangia & Ritesh Shah did full justice and wrote a script works wonders giving the movie a rock solid backbone to stay erected. Dialogues are realistic, completely in sync with the film.

Purab Kohli plays Ibrahim Durrani & is in search for his wife who went missing from the day Kuwait was invaded. He does well with controlled expressions. Prakash Belawadi who plays one of the Indian does well with his character.

Kumud Mishra as Sanjeev Kohli is excellent. He plays the role of an officer in Ministry of External Affairs. There is a very smartly scene written where he is talking to his father, who compares his house with that they left in Lahore during partition. Listen to the communication between the father and son carefully.

Nimrat Kaur made a very confident debut with Lunchbox and continues the good work. She confirms that she is here to stay. She has few good scenes in the movies but stands out in her outburst scene with Prakash Belawadi.

There is a scene when all the Indians reach Amman Airport but could not find the Indian flag as the Embassy is yet to receive the confirmation from India. It comes soon and the India Flag is erected bringing assurance in those searching eyes desperate to reach their motherland. This is where the song Tu Bhoola Jisey is picturized, which touches the viewers.

Director Raja Krishna Menon who has co-written the script of the movie didn’t waste time and meant business from the word go till the very last scene. He has also kept the tempo of his narration alive and the duration of the movie is just perfect. He had a good script in hand with a good star cast and all that was required was perfect execution of the material and he did it in style.

Akshay Kumar, take a bow. He is the soul of the film, be it the arrogant businessman or the concerned Indian who wants all to be evacuated safely, he stands tall in every scene. Watch him when he is searching his family in his house or when his driver is shot dead in front of him or meeting with Saddam’s minister, etc. He is outstanding in every scene. This is undoubtedly an award winning performance.

When the end credits begin to roll, the viewers in the theater(VOX Cinemas, Ajman) clapped loudly, which confirms the respect they have given to the product. This is a rare feat for any movie. Well done Akshay Kumar & Raja Krishna Menon.

For the fantastic work by the entire team - Rating 5 Stars.