Airlift Review: A gripping story till the last breath

I saw Airlift last evening. I knew the base premise from the trailers but the movie was far more fetching as it unfolded there scene by scene. The backdrop and the feel of a gulf country in 1990 is a refreshing change from all the similar looking European destinations covered in the numerous movies nowadays. Kudos to the team for bringing it so lifelike in front of us. The story brings to our knowledge one of the events in history which many Indians like me were not even aware of until it became the talk of the town as soon as the movie promotions started. Now suddenly we are introduced to the two gentlemen Sunny Matthews and Mr. Vedi who were instrumental in coordinating an evacuation from war zone with the help of the Ministry of External Affairs and on whom apparently Akshay's character Ranjit Katyal is based. Just today, I read a post by a person who as a teenager had been evacuated from Kuwait in 1990 highlighting how the actual circumstances and the chronology of events was very much different from the one depicted in the movie. As far as I was concerned, even before I went for the movie, I more or less considered it fictitious and just generally inspired by an event and the efforts of these two gentlemen. After all, cinematic liberties are expected in mainstream cinema and the producers and directors were not making a documentary here anyway. But yeah, I can also understand this person's viewpoint and the irritation one suffers when one knows the actual facts and sees them twisted before one's eyes. I only want to say that as a movie, Airlift was brilliant, whether or not it was very close to the actual incident of evacuation in 1990. Also, whether it evokes feelings of patriotism or not, as claimed, I think it is more of how a person will relate to the story. For me, it is more of a story of one person's willpower to make a difference and his innate goodness and empathy that he lets preside over his and his family's safety.

Without any spoilers here, I just want to render a praise for the lead actors. Akshay Kumar looks just as mean in the first fifteen minutes of the movie as he looks humane in the remaining bit. There is no trace of the aura of a 'superstar' here. I guess the same was said about him in Baby but even there his body language was that of a 'superstar' and a 'hero'. In Airlift, he effortlessly shifts his body language from one belonging to a 'devil-may-care' classy and filthy rich businessman surrounded and hailed by powerful and important people, to one highlighting the helplessness of a common man unwittingly raised on a platform as a leader who is actually struggling to prove to the people who trust him that he is doing his best despite destiny not supporting him. He is a class apart and though I have never really been a fan but at least in Airlift, one cannot just leave the theatre without being touched by the magnanimity and empathy of Ranjit Katyal.

Now coming to Nimrat Kaur. I had previously seen her in 'The Lunchbox' though not in 'Homeland'. In that one, I had thought of her as a naturally talented and effortless actor but not the mainstream kind. But in Airlift, she dispels all the impression of her not being the mainstream kind of an actor. I still believe that she would do good for herself by keeping away from the non-challenging hardly-any-acting-prowess-required hero's sidekick kind of roles, but I am now convinced that she would easily excel in any meaty role, like the one that Aishwarya essayed in 'Jalwa', Deepika / Priyanka essayed in 'Bajirao Mastani' or even the one Kangana essayed in 'Queen'. She is very much the relatable woman next door in Airlift with just a fair amount of glamour becoming the wife of a proud super-rich businessman as well as the endearing warmth of a concerned mother and wife. I'm really impressed with her here.

The humongous supporting cast is also fabulous. Purab Kohli demonstrates the resourcefulness and agility of the indispensable and trusted right-hand man of the hero and even the pain of someone who is unable to find a loved one and is on verge of losing hope. The actor who played George is very believable as the insufferable know-it-all. And even the actor who played the willing-to-help MEA official Kohli looks very much like a typical government 'babu' in his mannerisms and delivery.

All in all, the movie had brilliant performances all across and I would definitely recommend it as a good watch. Best dialogue: "Insaan ki fitrat hoti hai ki jab bhi uspar museebat aati hai vo maa ke paas bhagta hai". True that!

The sordid sagas of Indian soap operas

For the record, I'm not into soap operas and definitely not the Indian brand ones. My mom (and even my 9 years old daughter) watch a select few of them. So, I end up catching those ones. And then, honestly, even if you end up watching an episode after days, or even weeks, the story has hardly moved forward. You don't really miss anything.

But, what I cannot fathom is how for weeks each new show is publicized about what 'novelty' it is bound to offer in terms of the storyline but then eventually end up being the same clichéd 'saas-bahu sagas' or family dramas where a couple of women, the quintessential vamps, are always scheming and plotting anything and everything including torture or even murder; and the other women, the typical good heroines, are always diverting these plots.

There are so many examples I can quote here. But the immediate ones I can remember right now are 'Swaragini' and 'Kehta hai dil... Jee le zara'. The former was supposed to be the story of Swara and Ragini, two friends / sisters belonging to two warring families in the backdrop of culturally rich Kolkata who end up bonding over music and then get together to bring their families together (even the tagline was 'Jode rishton ke sur'). Now a few months down the line, it is the same clichéd story of both girls married into the same family, marriages and divorces happening at the snap of fingers according to the whims and fancies of the characters; and where one of the two girls is now a vamp and the other can now consider a career as a detective as she's now a pro at solving man made mysteries. Even the tagline has been dropped now. The other soap, 'Kehta hai dil... Jee le zara', started just as promisingly as the story of a 34 year old girl who was so busy taking care of her responsibilities and the family all this while that she has had no time for love and marriage until a 25 year old carefree guy comes into her life. It ended up as a family drama again where the mother-in-law and co-sister (and the whole family in general) were not happy with the marriage and they not only try to break her marriage but even to kill her. Similarly, there are so many other serials that end up all looking similar like 'Kumkum Bhagya', 'Qubool Hai' (take a generation leap when you want to change the plot), 'Thapki pyaar ki', 'Pavitra Rishta', etc. However, none of these can beat 'Sasural Simar Ka'. The soap started with Simar, a girl who is crazy about TV but belongs to a family where TV viewing is limited, wondering what kind of family she will marry into. Now after numerous plot twists and turns, filled with teary episodes reeking of black magic, the same Simar is now the queen of 'Pataal Lok'. Can you even imagine that? Phew!

Even the historical sagas like 'Maharana Pratap' and 'Chakravartin Samrat Ashok' are abound with scheming mother-in-laws and co-wives. In fact, there was a time when even the sequence of events in the two serials were moving parallel - both had mysterious hidden characters trying to kill the king by sending 'Vishkanyas'. Now I am forced to seriously doubt whether any of this stupidity is related to any of the historical events in our past.

And yet, day after day after day, our Indian 'janta' watches these very shows - all similar but different actors - and still doesn't get bored. I wonder after watching so many conniving strategists, how come they still can't see through the Indian 'dramebaaz' Politicians.

New Year New Pact - Update

So the new pacts for 2016 are finally decided for me. I am taking up two:‪#‎100extraordinarywomen‬ where I would like to find out and share stories of 100 ordinary women who did extraordinary things and ‪#‎12bookstoread‬ where I would like to read at least 12 books in a year and review them WITHOUT any spoilers. Both these posts would also be shared by me on my blog (sub-blogs created for the same).

As for the 3rd idea ‪#‎12randomactsofkindness‬, I think I would do it none the less and would rather try making it a way of life instead of a one year pact.

Now, the first one does not seem very difficult to me but I loved the idea so picked it up. Considering my schedule, the second one looks slightly challenging and therefore I picked that up. One for the soul and the other for the mind. Let's go!

Happy New Year!!