It is said that we live multiple lives in physical form that allows our soul to make the required journey to enlightenment. Each life has a journey, an experience planned for the soul that is housed by the physical body, necessary for the growth and learning of the soul, making it the yellow brick road to its Emerald city. And as you get closer to the Emerald City the journey becomes that much harder and unbearable, compelling you to give up, testing your perseverance, determination and will power. Just before the Sun rise, it is that time of the night that is the darkest. So why am I going on about life and soul and how you we are all here with a purpose, for a purpose. It is because those thoughts and ideas have been evoked and I happen to believe in them, more than ever before.
AIRLIFT is a story based on a historic rescue operation that was carried out by the Indian Government and Air India in late 1990 when Iraq had invaded Kuwait. The operation went down in history as the largest civil rescue operation ever to be performed successfully. Ranjeet Katyal (Akshay Kumar) is a wealthy and influential business man residing in Kuwait along with his wife Amrita Katyal ( Nimrat Kaur) and daughter Simran. All hell breaks loose when Iraq invades Kuwait and they find themselves in the middle of a War zone with the only thing keeping them alive being their identity which they had long forgotten, discarded even, of being Indian. How then, this ruthless and profit minded businessman becomes the sole hope of over 1.5 lac Indians putting the resources he has at his disposal to the best possible use in trying to give these Indians a second chance at life, is what the story comprises of.
Starting off, Akshay Kumar has a made a Hat trick with this one making it the third straight stunner after ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Special 26’. The most underrated Superstars of our time, he is one of the few who keeps his brainless entertainers on one side and mindful stories on the other, making no false promises and giving you a clear picture of what to expect from each kind. Now that is the kind of honesty and moral responsibility I like from an Actor/Superstar that does not trick you into the theatres. Moving on, the guy is a power house of performance and has lived the role of a few heroes such as Mathewes and others from whom his character has been inspired and penned. Kumar reportedly has said that his 80% profit share will be included in the film’s budget and he would not charge fees for the same.
Nimrat Kaur plays the lovely, supportive wife standing by her man at every step even if she does not agree with him, his ways and reasons. All she understands is that he must do this even if it means putting his family in danger. She does question his love and responsibility towards them but then it also makes her understand that not everybody has the courage to do what he wishes to achieve making him a rare, extraordinary human being.
The cast is a beauty and there are supportive roles played by Purab Kohli (Ibrahim), Prakash Belwadi( George Kutty) and Kumud Mishra( Sanjiv Kohli) that bring so much authenticity to the story line marking them as outstanding actors, a breed that is fast disappearing. Kumud Mishra is my personal favourite. I had last seen him on screen in ‘Rockstar’ playing the role of the college canteen owner/ Ranbir’s agent in the film. And it was then and now, that he has made a mark as an actor with such flawless performances. Movies such as AIRLIFT give you the hope that good acting is respected & sought after in an industry that churns its money from starry presence alone.
The music of the film is minimal, appropriate and melodious giving the film the required flow, connecting the story and bringing out the emotions of the situation and characters perfectly, a supportive actor by itself. But there is one very interesting, melodies song in the film that takes me back to my childhood. And by childhood I mean when I was 4-5 years old! Many would know, but a lot wouldn’t that the song, ‘Dedi’ is largely inspired by a very famous Arabic song of the 90’s ‘Didi’ that belongs to the famous singer Cheb Khaled.
The song was a rage at that time making it one of those international hits that you never knew what the artist was singing but the music was so catchy and groovy that nobody could resist its charm. I still remember my father playing it on loop for a year, yes a good year, in our first Navy blue Maruti 800 to all our car drives. It is one of my best memories of him loving and enjoying something with so much passion making it for my best family memories.And today, Akshay Kumar & AIRLIFT has only taken inspiration ( which I love and not copied the entire music) and put words to that groovy music reminding me of that lovely time I had as a kid and today, 20 years later enjoy the same song that I can connect to now with words and not just music. How often does life spring up such beautiful surprises? :’) So kudos to Amaal Mallik and Amit Tiwari for recreating my most favourite International number, Kummar for the lyrics and Arijit Singh for lending that melodious voice.
The director Raja Krishna Menon has done his homework and has been able to replicate the spine chilling scenes and emotions felt by the people that were subjected to this massacre. And I don’t think I have seen a list as long as this one of producers in a really long time. It took a lot of people and their conviction to bring this story to the audience. What I like about it is, it does tell you a story and a great one. Yes it does tell it in Bollywood style, with the first half testing your patience as it is extremely slow. But the ‘Bollywoodness’ is also kept under check and with the second half picking up pace, it is a film that is definitely worth your time and money. Especially for my generation, when we were only born when this scenario unfolded, it is in a way education and a good learning about our own country and its heroic efforts.
With Republic Day round the corner and India growing from an unstable government in the late 90’s, a fragile five in the early 21st century to a stable emerging market now, making it one of the most promising economies for times to come, AIRLIFT is a film that puts things in perspective, and so beautifully. With old souls and new souls going about their journey and life experiences it’s also a story about a country that has come a long, long way. Even though we are plagued with a million problems today, the growth of our beautiful country is unparalleled and the potential, unquantifiable.
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