Airlift (2016)

When Iraq invades Kuwait in August 1990, a callous Indian businessman becomes the spokesperson for more than 170,000 stranded countrymen.

Director:

Raja Menon

Writers:

Raja Menon (story), Sonu Sinha (screenplay)

Stars:

Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Kumud Mishra

Top Rated Indian Movies #148 | 3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akshay Kumar	...	Ranjit Katyal
Nimrat Kaur	...	Amrita Katyal
Kumud Mishra	...	Sanjeev Kohli
Prakash Belawadi	...	George
Inaamulhaq	...	Major Khalaf Bin Zayd
Lena	...	George's Wife (as Lena Kumar)
Nissar Khan	...	Ashok
Ninad Kamat	...	Kurien
Kaizaad Kotwal	...	Poonawalla
Feryna Wazheir	...	Tasneem
Ajay Kumar	...	Joseph
Purab Kohli	...	Ibrahim Durrani
Gunjan Malhotra	...	Meher Poonawala
Pooja Nair	...	Preethi
Taranjit Kaur	...	Nair's Wife (as Taranjeet Kaur)

Storyline

It is in this scenario that Ranjit Katyal (played by Akshay Kumar), a wealthy and powerful Indian businessman, who has always seen himself as a Kuwaiti, rather than an Indian, realizes that he no longer wields any influence on the Iraqis, and that he and his family are in as much danger as anyone else. Ranjit unknowingly becomes the man who all 170,000 Indians look up to for getting them out safely from Kuwait. Airlift is the story of Indians stranded in Kuwait during this traumatic time. A story of how they, with the help of Ranjit Katyal, managed to survive the Iraqi invasion, and against all odds traveled a thousand kilometers across the border into Amman, Jordan. From Amman, 170,000 Indians were brought home by the largest and the most successful evacuation ever attempted by any country, in the history of the world. Over 59 days, the Indian government systematically flew over 488 Air India commercial flights into a war zone to evacuate all 170,000 Indians and safely bring them ...

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Plot Keywords:

arab | kuwait | businessman | evacuation | 1990s | 

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Taglines:

1,70,000 refugees. 488 flights. 59 days. 1 man

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the real life mission was successful, Air India entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being a civil airline that helped evacuate the highest number of people ever.

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Goofs

In the movie, the characters are shown as drinking and eating from Al Manama Supermarket. In reality, Al Manama Supermarket only has branches in United Arab Emirates and India but not in Kuwait.

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Quotes

Ranjit Katyal: The only thing that sets us apart is that we are Indians and not Kuwaitis. If we are together, we matter. Otherwise, we mean nothing.

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Crazy Credits

Before the end credits roll, cards stating the contributions of Mr. Mathunny Mathews and Mr. Vedi, on whose efforts this film is based, are shown.

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Connections

References Tezaab (1988)

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Soundtracks

Mera Nachan Nu
Written by : Kumaar
Produced by: Amaal Mallik
Performed by: Brijesh Shandilya, Divya Kumar and Amaal Mallik

User Reviews

Great Movie. Nice start for 2016

Airlift is simply a great movie whether you talk about direction or acting,its simply mind blowing. Akshay kumar's gritty acting is simply mesmerizing.Unlike other movies , songs of this movie are soothing and full of melody. Its great that they didn't put a item song. The film is based on the real-life conflict and bloodshed that took place twenty five years back in Kuwait, and the way it is done—with a sense of urgency and immediacy, bringing alive a city over-run and under siege—sends out a crucial message to star-driven-yet-drivel- producing Bollywood.Other than that Nimrat kaur's was also very good. Overall, 'Airlift' is a good film,solidly plotted, well executed and well- acted. A must watch. Its a perfect movie for Republic Day Week !

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

22 January 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Airlift

Filming Locations:

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

Box Office

Budget:

$4,400,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,323,484

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cape of Good Films, Emmay Entertainment, T-Series

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 119 min (Netflix)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1