Movie Review: Airlift

" Sir, kucch mila? 

Haan, Iraqi biscuit, Klecha".

Director: Raja Menon

Starring: Akshay Kumar (Ranjit Katyal)
               Nimrat Kaur (Amrita Katyal)
               Purab Kohli (Ibrahim Durrani)

Recommended for: people interested in war-based stories or rescue operations

The Gist: Rescue operation of Indian-origin people residing or working in Kuwait in the Iraq-Kuwait war backdrop.

+ve points: 

A refreshing break from stories highlighting how the rich and affluent do not care for masses, or party all night in their Guccis and Pradas and un-real dance sequences in foreign locales.The movie had a hero Ranjit Katyal, a big businessman, who though initially wanted to flee with his family when the war broke out, stands up for his workers, their families and lakhs of strangers of Indian origin. This shows that people with riches and position should neither be seen as apathetic to society, nor should they give up in weak moments, if they can, in any way, contribute to society.

All the characters are so real.

• Ranjit- the character shows that 'rich' people with 'comfortable' lives are very valuable to society. It means a lot if such persons with the right contacts, excellent negotiation skills, business sense, an understanding of people, power and money and good amount of funds put these things to use in crisis situations.
• Amrita- the wife of rich businessman Ranjit, who is crazed when her husband won't flee but 'save' his workers and their families.
• Ashok and Kurien- other businessmen who much like Ranjit in the beginning want to escape and not get involved in 'social service'. Very real human nature. If we have means, we always try to save ourselves first and rarely try to involve ourselves in helping others. And it takes guts to not run away. 
• Sanjiv Kohli- a 'babu' in Ministry of External Affairs in India, who is not 'in-charge of Gulf division' and so wouldn't like to get involved just because some guy from Kuwait had Kohli's desk number. Again, human nature- why should I get my hands dirty when it's not even my job. The man though has a heart and does try to seek help from mantriji, other babus, aviation department etc. Another character which shows that educated civil servants of our country are not just super intelligent and hard working, but very valuable to society, if they have the will to get the job done.
• Air India pilots- outraged to fly civilian planes over war-zone, ultimately showing courage in this risky undertaking of evacuation. 

My Say: I cried all through the first half and the Tiranga in the climax put a smile on my face. The story was about Indian-origin people who had been living as Kuwaitis, but realize that Indians they really are. It made me be proud to be an Indian too. A good feeling, specially when Republic Day is round the corner :)