However, Ranjit later receives news of the UN embargo and that ships are barred from entering or leaving Iraq, effectively crushing their hopes of getting out. He discloses that an Indian merchant ship is due to arrive in Iraq with various supplies, and permits the Indian refugees to leave on the ship. The only remaining option, Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, turns out to be helpful. Ranjit travels to Baghdad to try to negotiate safe passage out of Kuwait, but to no avail. Ranjit pays a visit to Major Khalaf and talks to him about this, to which the Major simply extends his apologies, and also reveals that President Saddam has already permitted Indians to leave Kuwait, but the problem is that they have no way to do so. Later on, the camp is looted by Iraqi soldiers and harassed some of the refugees. Ranjit learns that the Indian embassy in Kuwait has been evacuated and phones the Indian External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, where he reaches the Joint Secretary, Sanjiv Kohli ( Kumud Mishra), and asks for arrangements to be made for the evacuation. He decides to stay and help the other Indians leave Kuwait. Amrita urges Ranjit to use his leverage to extricate his own family, but Ranjit, who ordinarily would have just looked out for himself, appears to have a change of heart. Ranjit convinces his friends to work together, and they set up a makeshift camp for some 500 Indians with Major Khalaf's permission. Iraqi forces continue to push through Kuwait and Ranjit's mansion is raided by Iraqi soldiers, but his wife and child manage to escape to his office. Some 170,000 Indians in Kuwait are now stranded as refugees. Major Khalaf, who knows Ranjit from Ranjit's visits to Iraq, chides him but extends his personal friendship, ensuring Ranjit and his family's safety from the soldiers.įrom there, Ranjit goes to the Indian embassy where he learns that the Kuwaiti government has fled into exile. There he meets Iraqi Republican Guard officer Major Khalaf bin Zayd ( Inaamulhaq), who reveals that he was the one who pulled up to the checkpoint earlier and prevented Ranjit from being harmed. A shocked Ranjit is then taken to the Emir's palace. They are stopped by Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint and Nair is shot dead amidst the confusion. Ranjit and Nair, his driver, go out and drive to the Indian embassy in an attempt to take their family and leave Kuwait.

The next morning, Ranjit discovers that Kuwait City is now occupied by the Iraqi Army. He calls himself a Kuwaiti and is often derisive towards Indians.Īfter a night of partying, Ranjit is woken up to a phone call from his friend and receives word that negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait have collapsed, and Iraqi troops have begun their invasion of Kuwait. In 1990, Indian expatriate Ranjit Katyal ( Akshay Kumar) is a successful Kuwait-based businessman who is very well-connected with officials in Kuwait City and Baghdad, and makes a happy home with his wife Amrita ( Nimrat Kaur) and their daughter Simu. The film is featured among the 2016 Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India. Airlift has grossed over ₹2.28 billion in global markets and gained awards for its background score and cast performances, notably one Zee Cine Award. The film emerged as a blockbuster at Indian as well as abroad box office. Its marketing played an important role in promotion, and collaboration with the flight company Air India who had a major contribution in the evacuation of record-breaking number of Indians during the war. Īirlift opened theatrically worldwide on 22 January 2016, coinciding with Republic Day weekend. The plot is adapted from real life story of a Kuwait-based Malayali businessman Mathunny Mathews.

The film was jointly produced by Abundantia Entertainment, Cape of Good Films, Emmay Entertainment, Hari Om Entertainment, T-Series and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures on a total budget of ₹320 million. Airlift is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Raja Krishna Menon starring Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur, that follows Ranjit Katyal (played by Kumar), a Kuwait-based businessman as he carries out the evacuation of Indians based in Kuwait during the Invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq which lead to the beginning of the Gulf War.

Airlift hindi movie