Hey guys, here’s my review of Airlift starring Akshay kumar.
The movie is based on the Evacuation of Indians from Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion of 1990. The story is not a completely true account of the happenings but nevertheless makes for a good watch.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Akshay Kumar plays Ranjit Katyal, a business tycoon who has connections with the Kuwaiti Ministry and Royal family. 10-15 minutes into the movie, Saddam Hussein’s forces invade Kuwait, causing the local government to collapse and save themselves, while leaving Kuwaitis and other inhabitants to fend for themselves. Ranjit Katyal initially plans to escape Kuwait with his family but circumstances and witnessing the horrific acts of war committed by the Iraqi army changes his mind and he decides to help his fellow countrymen in any way as he can. The rest of the movie is about how he organises the Indian refugees, who number around 1, 70, 000 and works with the Indian government and Iraqi forces to evacuate them safely.
Akshay Kumar plays his role with real conviction and really connects with the audience. I personally feel that Nimrath Kaur was really underused in this movie. Along with a supporting cast which includes Poorab kohli, Prakash Belawadi and Inaamulhuq, Airlift is able to arouse the feeling of patriotism in the viewers. The only thing I didn’t like were the flashy songs at the beginning. When will Bollywood stop trying to cram songs into movies? They are also not that great and forgotten the instant I walked out of the theatre. Apart from this one flaw, Raja Krishna Menon has done an excellent Job and has succeeded in making one of the most critically acclaimed movies from Bollywood. Also he has brought to light the story of Mathunny Mathews( AKA Toyota sunny), an NRI from Kerala on whom the character of Ranjit Katyal is based and also brought the 1990 AIRLIFT to the knowledge of many Indians, who did not know about this great event. This is very good movie and a must watch. 4/5 from me. Cheers