Uplifting storytelling about the humanity that lives in all of us

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 2016)

This was my first movie hall experience for an Akshay Kumar movie. For a long time, I have watched his movies months and maybe years after they have released. As a disinterested Bollywood fan ( largely for the churners that are belted out like the irritating Dilwale, the hypocritical PK and god knows how many KJ productions that Indian audiences are made to go through ) AK has been coming of age.
This movie is based on a huge truth of Indian history, the story trifles the Government of India ( the erstwhile 'unstable' government, as the movie says but the truth was not that, GOI had a huge contribution for the evacuation of those who were trapped...but anyways) and the Civil Aviation ( who apparently were reluctant to go to a warzone initially, without them it would have never been possible ). Neither of these took any credit, and a Kuwaiti Indian origin business tycoon who thought of Kuwait as his motherland till the invasion, is a faceless nameless man till date.
Truths aside, (which will dampen the expectations of the larger audience in India, still expecting AK to give karate chops to ? Saddam Hussein ??? ), the story is a fine attempt to move into reality. I had friends asking for action scenes, but this s real life, where a person can only go so far as a punch or a slap. AK is restrained. He does not do the best acting ( I still think Sangharsh was his best acted out perhaps) but the situations are compelling. And he is refreshingly subdued.
The invasion by Iraqi troops seems outright realistic ( and you are forced to forgive the pseudoiraqi general and AK's Punjabi tinged Arabic) Nimraat Kaur plays the wife that tycoons perhaps have to bear, sophisticated and ill with the largesse until jolted into truth by her husband's about turn. And what a graceful way she does it..
A bit more of the truth about Indian Governemnt and Civil Aviation could have helped. But who knows, maybe the writer hates the last 60 years of Indian Democracy as much as ranjit Katyal and the majority of Indians do.
No wonder the bigger tigers of the Industry are panning the cinema. This is a kind of movie very few people living in our country will rise up for. i do not know if this movie will also win any awards, the technicalities are also a bit loose here and there.
Taking the last line from a previously mentioned comment, and also a big thank you to the pilots of all those aircrafts who flew 1,70,000 people, and a foreign minister of the unstable government who chatted Saddam Hussein in the face of International sanctions. A beautiful tribute to the most beautiful flag in the world. A must know, must see without prejudices.
Jai Hind