So is this only a coincidence that his next movie with Neeraj will also release on Independence Day next year ? Or Akshay is experimenting with his roles and want to expand his canvas as an actor. On this Independence Day, Akshay’s movie Rustom was released, which is doing really well. The movie charts out a mission undertaken by fictional secret agents called Baby ( formed in response to the 2008 Mumbai attacks) that strives to identify terrorists who are planning attacks in India. In Baby, Akshay plays an Indian secret agent. In Airlift, Akshay has essayed the role of a Kuwait-based businessman who eventually carried out the evacuation of stranded Indians there during the Invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Both his movies Airlift ( 2016) and Baby (2015) were released around Republic day. On the other hand, if we look at the Akshay’s repertoire in recent years, the actor has given some terrific roles filled with the spirit of patriotism and courage. And at the end, the same man emerges out to be a hero. Neeraj has also given us A Wednesday which, which was a powerful tale of a common man grappling with harsh realities of bomb blasts. All these films have similar elements of loyalty, courage and a strong sense of duty in the face of rampant crisis like terrorism and corruption plaguing the country. Neeraj is also one of the producers of Rustom. I was deeply inspired by the story.Akshay and Neeraj have already collaborated for movies like Baby and Special 26. I have met those people (who were rescued and brought back to the country) and they cry when they recall the whole incident. India ne itna chup chap ye kaam kar diya. Agar aap dekhein toh, back in 1990, sirf ek hi article tha jisne yeh cover kiya tha. He continued, "I was shocked ki aisa bhi kuch hua tha, that's why I chose to do this film and then we decided that I should produce the film too. It's like saying that every romantic film is the same or every thriller is the same," said Menon at the press conference.Īkshay also revealed that he was unaware of the whole Kuwait incident and came to know about it, thanks to his director. Our film is about the single greatest achievement of independent India. The only faint link is that some people were saved in a covert operation. "There is absolutely no connection in between these two films. It is the story of the biggest-ever human evacuation in the history of mankind."Įlaborating on the point, director Raja Menon said that there was no similarity between his film and Argo, and it's just that the two films share a common theme of evacuation. It is something which you should be proud of. How can Airlift be a copy of Argo when the Kuwait incident is a true story? It is not a copy. And on this, the Brothers actor said, "It's an insult if you compare Airlift with Argo because they saved only six people and we saved 1,70,000 people. The 2012 film chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981). This is why I chose to do this film."Īkshay's film has often been compared to Ben Affleck's Oscar-winning film Argo. And aapko yeh jaanke khushi hogi ki hamare jo Air India ke pilots hai unhone uss time risk uthaya and 488 flights (Kuwait ke) andar lekar gaye aur sabko bachake le aaye. They didn't know where to go, what to do and had only one hope: calling out to their nation for help.
This is a real story of what happened to 1,70,000 Indians who were in Kuwait when Saddam Hussein had attacked the country in 1990. Talking about the ideology behind the film, Akshay told reporters, "Is film ka nazariya yeh hai ki hum dikahana chahte hai - dikhana kya, yeh hakikat mein hai - India is the greatest country in the world. At the Delhi press conference of the film, Akshay Kumar had a snippet or two to share about his latest patriotic venture, Airlift.