Airlift

In August 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait. Ranjit Katyal, a wealthy Indian businessman settled there, at first thinks only of getting his own family out. Then he takes on responsibility for the more than one hundred and seventy thousand Indian citizens stranded in the country and tries to move Delhi to act. Raja Menon directed. Akshay Kumar plays Katyal, Nimrat Kaur his wife. The source is real: the 1990 evacuation from Kuwait to India is recognised as the largest civil airlift in history and entered the Guinness records. The protagonist is based not on one man but on several businessmen active at the time; the film gathers them into a single hero, a choice criticised in India. Its best section is the bureaucracy: the real obstacle to the evacuation is not the war but the uncertainty over which ministry will decide. It did well at the box office and won national awards. Who it is for: viewers who like Indian drama drawn from real events. Who it is not for: anyone seeking historical accuracy; the film puts the hero narrative ahead of the record.