How much do you know about the 1990 Gulf War when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait? It happened more than two decades ago, but there’s scant knowledge about how it affected displaced civilians caught in the middle.
Actor Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur provide some answers with their film, Airlift, out in the UAE on Thursday.
In the film, directed by Raja Krishna Menon, Kumar plays Gulf-based Indian businessman Ranjit Katyal who spearheads an evacuation in Kuwait in 1990. Along with the help of the Indian government and a motley of brave Indian civilians, Katyal shepherds 88 Air India flights over 59 days and successfully executes the largest human evacuation in history.
“When Saddam Hussain attacked Kuwait, there were at least 170,000 Indians displaced by war. When an invader attacks another country, people staying there don’t know what to do. It’s a story about those Indians. Whose door should they knock on?,” said Kumar in an interview during an on-the-sets visit in March last year.
Not convinced? Here’s another five reasons to give this film a shot.
It’s a story worth telling
“Airlift is a true story that will make you love your country even when you have forgotten how to,” said Kumar.
“It’s not just a film, it’s an insight into the bravery displayed by civilians who were determined to help out those trapped in the war. Civilians travelled tirelessly through desert terrain in desperate hope that their fellow Indians from their beloved motherland would have the courage to airlift them all out of Kuwait.
“It will highlight that even when people turn their backs on India in search of better horizons, India never turns its back on its people.
“This isn’t a fable to be enjoyed, it’s a heroic common-man endeavour, [which is why it probably hasn’t been over dramatised by media or by the government],” he added. “Rather than a heroic mission planned by our forces, it was an ordinary citizen’s problem, and it took the common men and their wives to fix it.”
It was filmed in Ras Al Khaimah
UAE residents can indulge in some pride. Ras Al Khaimah was dressed up as 1990s Kuwait to bring Airlift to life, and the scenes featuring burning cars and distraught civilians grappling with unrest were filmed there last March.
“We removed all the latest model cars from the streets and replaced them with cars from the 1990s. Several streets and roads in Ras Al Khaimah were blocked, with the support of Ras Al Khaimah tourism, the police forces and Ministry of Interior, so that the scenes could be shot smoothly. But all those challenges have paid off because those scenes at RAK have come out beautifully,” said Mini Sarma, line producer from 7 Media, who assisted the film’s team.
Director Menon is equally happy with the final result. “Ras Al Khaimah lent itself beautifully to the film and we could bring the spirit of the 1990s Kuwait there,” he said. “There’s so little out there about what happened in Kuwait, we had to piece together stories from all those who had been a part of the war. The research was difficult, and it was important for me to get across the horror of being a part of such a war ... through in the film.”
As a part of his legwork, he sifted through home videos featuring Kuwait-returned Indian expatriates and pored through a pile of government documents to percolate the important events into his film.
This is not a war film ... it’s all soul
The director and the actors are convinced that the tastes of Bollywood audiences have evolved. Now, there’s an appetite for films that don’t follow the song and dance formula, said its director.
“Some years ago, such a film would never have entered the mainstream film bracket. So that fact that people are willing to trust me with such a film is an indicator that we have come a long way. People are tired of the formula,” said Menon, who has long shunned song and dance spectacles.
“Style in a film is easy to create, but to make a soul[full] film isn’t easy. If a film doesn’t connect with the hero or the story, then we have lost the battle.”
Kumar agreed.
“Rather than making it into an epic war film, we wanted to provide the public with the facts as to what the Indian civilians in Kuwait went through during the Iraqi War, [a war] that was inflicted on them when the Iraqi’s had no right to kill a race that had nothing to do with their conflict in the first place. This isn’t about trying to create an over exaggerated war zone to blow people’s minds visually. Airlift is about the story that was never told to us,” he said.
Airlift brings together Kaur and Kumar for the first time
After her searing portrayal of an Indian housewife who can cook up a storm and find love outside her loveless marriage in the hit romance The Lunchbox, it took Kaur two years to work on a second Hindi film. But it was worth the wait, said the actress who also acted in the US TV series Homeland.
“Akshay Kumar is a huge star, so I was, of course, intimidated and nervous before meeting him. But having worked with him, I know he’s such a good actor and one of the most wonderful persons I have met till date. He made me feel comfortable,” she said.
A-listers plus good content
If there’s a lesson that 2015 in Bollywood has taught us, it is that style cannot outshine substance. Remember how the box-office earnings of Dilwale dipped after the first week of release and viewers decided to invest in the majestic romance Bajirao Mastani, which released on the same day, instead?
Bajirao’s continued success proves that audiences have become more discerning. Airlift has a strong story, but having a star leading it helps tremendously.
“It makes a sea of difference that an A-lister has chosen to be a part of my project. It shows faith and belief,” said director Menon.
Kumar is aware that not all blockbusters are worthy. “I’ve reached that stage where the success of a film doesn’t mean as much to me as the interest or the appreciation it can earn wholeheartedly. Not all blockbusters are worthy,” he said.
“I say that from my own experience, as wonderful as it is to break records, there are very few that make it into that ‘revered cult club’ section. These are so precious and rare, no one can dish out a cult film every year, but there’s no harm in entertaining people while you wait eagerly for that magical script and screenplay that blows the audience away for the rest of their lives.
“And I’m happy making films that intrigue, excite, entertain people while I search for my next Hera Pheri, Waqt or Namaste London.”
Don’t miss it
Airlift is out in the UAE this Thursday.
