Cast: Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Feryna Wazheir

Direction: Raja Krishna Menon 

Produced: Nikhil Advani, Monisha Adwani, Aruna Bhatia, Madhu G. Bhojwani, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Vikram Malhotra

Written: Raja Krishna Menon Suresh Nair Rahul Nangia Ritesh Shah

Genre: War Film

Duration: 125 Mins

The film's poster gives us the essential, awe-inspiring numbers. Comparisons to Argo are futile. Both are taut thrillers of nationals trapped in alien, hostile land. Airlift just happens to depict the largest evacuation of civilians in history.

 

Ranjeet Katiyal's (Akshay Kumar) character is loosely based on Mathunny Matthews, an automobile dealer who was also known as Toyota Sunny. Matthews and a certain Mr. Vedi were instrumental in the rescue of 1,70,000 Indians in Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war of 1990.

Ranjeet is a ruthless businessman, unafraid of the toes he steps on to get into the Emir's good books. He is disdainful of India and considers himself Kuwaiti. Ranjeet has a tense relationship with his wife Amrita (Nimrat Kaur). He asks her to smile before entering a party, she tells him to drink less before they break out in plastic, wide grins while greeting the attendees. Ranjeet sings a Hindi song while belly dancers gyrate on stage, one of the off-moments in otherwise solid pacing.

All hell breaks loose the next day on 2nd August, 1990. Iraq invades Kuwait. Tanks roll down residential streets. Civilians are shot through the head. Ranjeet's home is ransacked. He rushes to his office to search for his family. With the rising tension and conflict, more and more Indians seek refuge in the safe haven. Intending to leave with just his family, Ranjeet now stays back to help every single Indian counting on him.

The task is made difficult with the breakdown of government machinery, the fleeing of almost every influential officer in Kuwait and the watchful gaze of Major Khalaf bin Zayd (Inaamulhaq, armed with a stilted Arabic accent). "Mauka hai, family leke nikal jaao," warns the Major. "Social work mein lag gaye toh phas jaaoge." Ranjeet is eventually too far gone to pay heed, even if it means lumping a cantankerous refugee (Prakash Belawadi) or shielding a terrified Kuwaiti woman (Feryna Wazheir) in their midst, despite her being a walking death sentence for them all if discovered.

With Hotel Rwanda-esque suspense, Ranjeet navigates the choppy waters between the refugees, the militia while urgently reaching out to any official willing to listen and capable of helping.

Raja Krishna Menon has upped the scale of his filmography after Bas Yun Hi (2003) and the memorable Barah Aana (2009). With Airlift, he has raised the bar for dramas and thrillers, keeping the histrionics in check. The songs, even if almost all are in the background, undo the mood of the film. Akshay Kumar may have the spotlight but there are little touches of interpersonal relationships between the other asylum seekers, leaving you with some memorable faces instead of a devoted, unwashed sea of humanity. Priya Seth's cinematography takes you to the heart of the conflict with the expansive desert shots and the intelligent framing.
An absolutely watch this weekend, Airlift has enough highly strung instances and lump-in-your-throat sequences to keep you enthralled.