I am all set to hit the theaters for the First Day First Show of the movie Airlift. Just this week actor Akhsay Kumar said it is insulting to compare Airlift with Argo as Airlift is based on true event. Isn’t Argo too?
Well, anyway. Actors are not particularly credited with correct arguments when it comes to their movies or creating buzz for the movie.
Airlift Movie Review
Airlift is fits right into the Drama genre, which Bollywood seems to experiment too little these days. A different subject, other than Romance and Terrorism, is also a welcome change.
A happy and very Kuwaiti Katyal is a successful businessman in Kuwait. But his glitzy world is thrown into turmoil as Iraq begins a ground invasion of Kuwait. People – Civilians – are killed by the invading army who spare no one.
A resourceful and headstrong Katyal soon finds himself taking responsibility of his employees and later most Indians who survive the initial invasion.
He takes up his new role against the wishes of his wife and promises his countrymen to do all he can along with a couple of other Indian businessmen to get them out of Iraq and to a safe place.
Performances by Akshay Kumar and other actors do not leave anything wanting. The movie is slightly slow in the first hour but gains momentum as Katyal tries hard to support and find solutions to his problems.
The character of the invading Iraqi general is somewhat comical and could have been executed much better. Just as Tariq Azziz – Iraq’s Foreign Minister – the general’s character could have been astute, if not villainous, speaking a neutral language or Arabic instead of Hindi.
Absence of long song sequences have kept the movie short, but it moves at a very leisurely pace. This seems appropriate for the genre, though. So if you are hoping to get some thrill and action, Airlift is not the movie.
Airlift is high on drama and emotions. It is definitely a story that needed to be told and honor the true heroes of the mammoth effort of bringing more than 1.5 Lakh Indians home from the war zone.
Leave a Reply