Airlift: Movie Review

What do you say about a movie like Airlift?

THIS IS IT! (Remo Fernandes in Jhalak Dikhla Ja)

One hasn't been to too many First Day Shows in the recent past. But this story was too compelling to pass up. One lugged a child and his friend and the friend's mother. All 4 to a First Day Show. And what a treat!

The background music blends in so subtly you don't even notice it. The rest of the score is soothing, melodious and easy on the ears - not a mean feat for a quasi action film. BUT.. the best part is this - the characters are sooo beautifully etched. Each one of them - including the ensemble cast. Everyone has a place to fill, and everyone fills that place so well. Full marks to the Casting Director! And the actors, of course.

I have become an Akshay Kumar fan in the recent years. From being Bollywood's favourite Khiladi in more ways than one, this person has matured as an actor. He brings that rare thing to the screen - persona. Nimrat Kaur does justice to her role. I would have liked a lot more layering in the expressions of this rather complex character, but that's just me. Joseph - who grows in stature from that first shot when Akshay Kumar is asking him how much moneys they have, to the end. Purab Kohli as Iqbal.. what can one say? He stands out, really, REALLY stands out, is all. You will have to see his performance to know what I mean. From the man who escorts the hero to a small gathering of friends in a supermarket, to the man who ensures an identity for a woman with an infant, and then looks the hero in the eye as he walks past, this man truly is an equal.

But this was not one man's victory. Nor was it the story of one man. There were so many invisible hands who made this happen. They have been acknowledged in the end, but only in passing. They deserved so much more credit for standing by a man and supporting his battle.

One Lakh Seventy Thousand WOWs for this movie. I can only imagine the scale of that number. A full residential complex with 1000 flats has only 5000 ppl on average. A full movie hall - maybe 150. A flight - 300? 448 flights. Those are numbers that will remain in our mind for a long, long time. Sad that it took so long for someone to tell such an inspirational story, but that time only makes it more special, as we are in a position to look back and appreciate how that one battle of 1990 changed the course of world history, and continues to do so - 25 years later.

My only advice: If you are a parent, do go prepared with your history. The movie is a fantastic trigger for a discussion on the rise of religious extremism (our kids have grown up in a world where they don't know a time without terror. We have to remind them that before 1990, folks went out and did their stuff and no one really knew that thing called terror. Then Bin Laden happened, and there was no one to stop him. Then 9/11 happened, and the world has not looked back since. )

We also had a superb discussion on the use of war games by children. I explained to them that the "dead" soldiers they see in Clash of Clans, is this - ruined houses, displaced people, orphaned children. This is the truth of war, and don't let anything, or anyone, tell you otherwise. We cannot trivialise war. Or violence. And anything that does, needs to see this movie. As of this minute, my son does not want to play Clash of Clans. Or anything else that leads to war or dead soldiers. :)