2016's First Good Film Is Here. ♦ Grade B-

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2016)

There is a lot being written and read about Akshay Kumar in the media lately. This film is a standing testament that he deserves that.
India-born Kuwaiti businessman Ranjit (Kumar) finds his whole world turn upside down after he is caught unawares in the middle of cranky Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Already frantic enough to manage his own three-member family's escape to India, Ranjit finds that a mass of Indians, with no one else to turn to, is pulling at his sleeve for help. The story is basically about his, his family's, and his fellow compatriots' struggle to leave the warzone amid rising tension from all sides.
The story is told rather nicely, minimizing the bloodshed but staying realistic at the same time. It's no doubt an extraordinary tale, and the writers manage to make it gripping, and even jaw-dropping at one, maybe two, instances. Of course, the exodus story is too good to be true, but when you KNOW that it is truly based on a real life event and few hearts did beat for almost a quarter million people's rescue mission, you automatically get the idea, and begin to realize the importance of telling such a story.
It talks about one man's painstaking struggle as he reaches astronomical altruism with his bare hands, putting his own life on the warpath. It also talks about India's snail-paced bureaucracy, and how babus are the best benchwarmers in the country. However, a lot of essential minutiae were left out in the screenplay which makes the whole story look too incomprehensible for someone who hates history or who wasn't reading the news in 1990. Lot of questions are left unanswered, which if were at least attempted to answer, could have saved the audience from being in the dark. But still, the photography and production set supports in evincing the sheer madness that presumably engulfed our protagonist. (There is also a sly comment on the intolerance issue currently grappling India if you are attentive.)
The film, unfortunately for enthusiasts like us, looks like it has gone through the Bollywood machine. I say this because you will see random, totally unnecessary songs playing out throughout the film. And Ranjit also shakes a leg in one or two, the only time we get to se his pearl whites. Plus, the attempt at infusing wry humor at certain parts totally messes up with those parts of the flow. Kumar is brilliant as I have mentioned, and is well supported by Kaur and other cast members. Really happy to see Malayalam film star Lena in a role.
BOTTOM LINE: Raja Menon's tense war drama, Airlift, is definitely a well-made thriller which will make you feel good about your country this Republic Day, but at the end, the question still creeps in: how much has changed in 25 years?
Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES