Airlift: Akshay Kumar stars in slow gripper

Cast:  Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur
Rated: 7.5/10
True stories are rarely made, and made well, in Bollywood though the trend has somewhat picked up in the past five years, what with Paan Singh Tomar, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Special 26making quite a splash.
Airlift, based on a true life 1990 saga of what is touted as “the world’s biggest war zone air evacuation” was waiting to happen on the big screen but it took 26 years to make it. Thanks to Akshay Kumar’s clearly controlled acting and no-nonsense production, the wait’s been worth the while. Simply put, Airlift is a gritty, slow moving, close to reality tale that makes very little attempt to play to the box office. And that’s where it earns its biggest points.
Though you may accuse the film of going slow in the second half and some song and dance that wasn’t really needed, there’s no denying the fact that the situation that unfolded when Saddam’s trigger happy troops invaded Kuwait was complex, explosive and in need of explanations. The evacuation of 1.7 lakh Indians that took place with more than 400 Air India flights taking the risk of flying into the war zone, was the most impactful ferry-out in history.
Akshay helms this evacuation as a tony Kuwait-based businessman Ranjit Katiyal. As Katiyal, he is as real a character as is his situation in which he reluctantly undertakes the responsibilities of protecting and moving the entire Indian community, mostly not connected with him, out to Jordan.
Akshay uses the skills of patience, negotiation, clout and desperation, all in a heady mix, to perfection, marking one of his best roles thus far. He keeps it human, unheroic most and gritty to essay the role to perfection and give most of the moments this film has. That the people around him (like the unbearable Mr George and the slimy crony of Saddam in Kuwait) are etched out with a lot of caution and care.
The film may be slow but is a clear gripper not to be missed. It’s this kind of cinema that leaves you thinking of and yearning for more such meaningful big screen content which is both box office and parallel cinema in one. 
Source: Sunday Pioneer, 24 January, 2016

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