Entertainment

Airlift is big hit, but is it based on facts?

After its release, the film has received flak from several quarters including government officials who were part of India’s evacuation efforts and people who were evacuated from Kuwait. One of those evacuated wrote a piece in a national paper saying he was “not evacuated by Katyal (Akshay’s character)”.

Bollywood movie Airlift starring superstar Akshay Kumar has crossed Rs.100-crore mark by Sunday. The film is gripping and Akshay is its soul.

The film is claimed to be based on evacuation of more than 1,70,000 Indians living in Kuwait, when the tiny Middle East oil rich country was invaded by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 1990.Airlift_poster

But that’s it. There have been a lot of allegations against the makers for distorting the facts. The problem with a well-made movie but full of factual errors is that it makes people judge historical characters in a wrong way.

After its release, the film has received flak from several quarters including government officials who were part of India’s evacuation efforts and people who were evacuated from Kuwait. One of those evacuated wrote a piece in a national paper saying he was “not evacuated by Katyal (Akshay’s character)”.

Here are five flaws they find with the film:

1. India’s External Affairs Minister I K Gujral has been shown in a very poor light in Airlift. It has been shown as if he was not at all interested in saving Indians in Kuwait.

In reality, Gujral chaired a sub-committee that organized the evacuation that was a result of seamless coordination between External Affairs Ministry, Civil Aviation Ministry and Air India.

2. Despite American pressure, India avoided condemning Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait keeping in mind the safety and security of lakhs of Indians trapped in the war-torn zone.

3. Both India and Iraq were part of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM). During the war India approached several Nam countries to influence Saddam to allow safe passage to Indians in Kuwait.

4. India’s Ambassador to Kuwait Kamal Bakshi was also shown in poor light in the film. But actually he helped the trapped Indians and organized their stay in the embassy and several other places.

5. In the film, Katyal keeps telephoning a joint secretary again and again despite his saying from the beginning that someone else deals Gulf Desk. The film did not show even once Katyal talking to the joint secretary in charge of Gulf Desk.

Big Wire

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