Airlift Movie Review

Akshay Kumar has become the ideal star to get films made within a budget and recover the budget. He’s also been a part of some well reviewed films recently like Special 26 and Baby and some commercial hits like Holiday and Gabbar is Back. This time he’s back in Airlift with a film that is one of his most anticipated movies recently in terms of storyline. It deals with very sensitive subject? Will director Raja Krishna Menon be able to do justice to the subject? Let’s fine out.

Story: Ranjit Katyal (Akshay) considers himself to be Kuwaiti and loves the extravagant lifestyle of the middle East nation. Ranjit lives with his wife Amrita (Nimrat), who seems to be primarily busy with their kid. But things quickly turn sour when one night in August 1990, the Iraqi army suddenly marches onto the streets and invade Kuwait. By a twist of fate, the lives of 170,000 Indians living in Kuwait takes a turn for the worst. Ranjit suddenly grows a conscience and becomes patriotic. He takes up the mission of helping all the Indians to get out of Kuwait safely and securely. Most of the proceedings in the second half are about the impediments to their evacuation and the lackluster beauraucratic process of the then Indian external affairs ministry.

Airlift Movie Review

Airlift Movie Review

Screenplay and Direction: Airlift is a very deft movie made without any added dramatic effect and that is clearly visible in the way Raja Menon has put together the movie. It is shot realistically and the detailing is impressive. There are no spiced up revelations, the lead protagonist doesn’t end up fighting his advisories. Airlift maintains a whiff of humanity throughout its runtime and it takes a lot of courage and ambition to tell such an underknown story in such an ambitious manner. Airlift is one of the rare movies which entertains and educates. The only flaw we can think of in the screenplay is the over reliance on Akshay Kumar’s character to get everything done. It can’t possibly have been just one man doing all the work (and the makers themselves reveal this in the end credits).

Airlift is one of the most realistically shot and detailed big budget human dramas we have seen in Bollywood. The production design, the costume design, the set decoration all come together to make Airlift as authentic as possible within the budget constraints. The editing is also very good. The music of Airlift isn’t on your face and it does a good job of staying in the background and nurturing the mood of the film.

Acting: Akshay Kumar is the heart and soul of Airlift – which is great because it shows his restrained acting skills, and it’s also not so great because the story suffers from being over reliant on the life of just one man. Akshay Kumar keeps it subtle, and emotes through his eyes. We get to see a completely new side of Akshay in Airlift and it sure is better than the half baked outlandish characters he’s done in the last decade. The change in his character’s stance towards India is well brought out by the actor. Nimrat Kaur is a great inspired choice as the female lead of Airlift. Sadly, the role she is entrusted with could have been better written. She gets in and out of her Punjabi accent a lot of times. But accents don’t maketh a performance as Nimrat is excellent otherwise. Purab Kohli is first rate but Prakash Belawadi is short changed with a half haphazardly written character.

Conclusion: Airlift is a commendable and laudable film which deserves to be seen by all Indians on the occasion of Republic Day. It is made with humanity to tell a human story which could have turned out to be a tragedy. A few brave souls saved the lives of 170,000 people and it’s time more Indian directors started telling stories like this which tells Indian stories amidst a global scenario. If you are in the mood to be entertained, watch Airlift. If you are in the mood to be educated, watch Airlift. If you are in a patriotic mood, watch Airlift. You know what? Just watch Airlift.

Pros:

  • Akshay Kumar delivers one of his best performances
  • Tells an Indian story without any added drama
  • The detailing is sensational
  • The pay off is very satisfying

Cons:

  • Over reliance on the lead protagonist

Rating: ★★★★☆

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55 Comments

  • Collection doesn’t matter such kind of films… Akshay Kumar at its best… Doing 4 Films Per Year And Giving The Best Versatility Are Not The Game Of Kids… Think Thrice Before Giving Your Shit Comments For This Real Hero…!!!

    The Unmatchable Akki…

  • Akshay for best actor this year!!!!! ……. only if Fan, Raees, Mohenjo Daro, and Dangal werent all releasing this very year! LOL

    Bad Luck Akshay

  • I real all the reviews
    all review are positive (6 out of 6 ) so far.
    average rating is 3.67 / 5

    all critics praised akshay kumar performance.

    I believe this movie will liked by all kinds of audience. and will achieve that feat which akshay kumar deserves.

  • Dil Jeet Liya, Bhai…
    You Proved It Again, You Are Just Irreplaceable And Unmatchable…

    The Most Versatile Actor Of The Decade… Giving 4 Different Kind Of Movies In A Year And Capability Of Pulling The Crowd In Theaters Is Just O*U*T*S*T*A*N*D*I*N*G…

    Log Bole Tujhhe Bollywood Star, NAAM TERA AKSHAY KUMAR…
    JUST NAILED ITTT…!!!

  • The response of Airlift is the same as Baby,i just hope it doesn’t end up collecting below 100cr coz neither Baby nor Airlift deserve collecting below 100cr,in my own opinion Airlift is better than Baby,am not a good reviewer so i won’t review it.Glad Airlift was my first film to watch it in theatre this year

  • Watched Airlift

    -The ßest Thing About the movie Was Akshay kumar’s performance. His Expressions,dialogue delivery nd body language Bang on !!! International Level Performance

    -The Movie has its heart at The right place. The Dialogues Are Clap worthy.

    -The Aim of this movie was to show A real story in which the director had succeed. It’s beautifully done ,Brilliant Cinematography!

    -The Humour In Parts Is Good .

    -The Director Forgotten To Add Tension N Thrill Which is A ßig let down . More Action & Thrill Would Hve Made This film More Entertaining 4 The Viewers.

    -The Climax Was ßig Dissapointment. A very Flat Ending in A manner .

    An Honest Review Without favouring My Star Akshay kumar.

    It’s A Well told Story but will Not satisfy Everybody, Still Good 4 The Audience Who likes watching Real nd beautifully made Movies.¡

  • I have seen Airlift film I liked film very much . Akki Sir performance was awesome he is soul of film . Akki Sir should do such kind of film .

  • I saw the movie
    It’s on Good
    Thank you akshay sir . You are great
    You are the only pure all round actor alive today .

  • Not Just S26 nd baby . Holiday also got good reviews.

    Airlift Will be liked more by Critics rather then audience.

    It’s a patriotic movie so nobody will talk negative about it but deep down many fans of akshay will be dissapointed with airlift especially of North India.
    Pls akki sign movies like holiday, Gabbar, housefull. Don’t waste ur talent in such movies which doesn’t hve much scope nd appeal To Pan india.

    Dislike the cmnt if u want but it’s Right wht I said .

  • Very good reviews coming all over, planning to watch the film in the weekend.
    Akki is in his own league in last 5 years, delivered OMG,SPL 26,Holiday, Baby and now Airlift also looking to achieve same feat. Hats off.

    @Sunny chechi I havent seen Airlift yet so can’t talk much about how the film is honestly but I wish whether you liked or not but Shouldn’t say that Akki should stop films like this. As an Aamir film I would love to see Talaash kind of film again from Aamir whatever its box office fate would be. Different films should be made whatever there boxoffice outcomes will be. Variety and versatility is the best thing we can expect from superstars.

  • As per my point of view : the definition of Brilliant Cinema is Air Lift and Baby.

    Salute to Akshay as he has given his all time best performance.

    Again want to say: it’s a brilliant cinema.

  • This sunny chechi is such a moron. Even akki will b ashamed of him. What a fan yaar. Asks his idol to not do mvz like baby s26 airlift…!!!???

  • Wht i written in above cmnt on 1:42 was keeping in mind tht my friends nd nearby audience Were dissapointed With D film I guess or maybe the audience were too engage in the film . Who knows

    I liked it nd find it a beautiful film .
    Akshay kumar was a treat to watch.
    Far better character nd acting then even baby nd gabbar.
    Only dissapointed with Climax nd lack of tension in the movie .

    Akki fans just clarifying. ?

    Hope audience like it !!!

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