And I will never ask, "What did India do for me?"

For the first time ever since I have started writing blogs, or say, writing reviews on movies, this post is NOT a review at all!!

This is straight from my heart and a post I'm writing directly after I have finished watching this awesome movie - AIRLIFT.

After watching this movie, I too asked myself – Is there any “safer” place to live other than our own country?

Yeah, maybe even India being our motherland isn’t safe to live in (MAYBE!!) but then, at least we are not refugees here!!

Lot of problems dwell in each country, let alone India; however even in all those problems we feel safe and the unity we have are one of its kind!!

Floods, terrorist attacks, cloud outbursts and the list goes on… however we all have when the time required stood together and fought the battles.

So the story of this movie –

An Indian businessman, Ranjit Kantiyal (Akshay Kumar) a ruthless businessman and who will go to any lengths to make a profit. He is successful and well connected in Kuwait and Iraq and calls himself a Kuwaiti and is generally derisive towards Indians. He has a well appointed mansion in Kuwait and makes a happy home with his wife Amrita (Nimrat Kaur) and little daughter Simu.

One evening he receives a word that Iraq has attacked Kuwait. He explains that Iraq and Kuwait have had tense relations: Iraq owes a large dollar debt to Kuwait and Saddam has urged the Kuwaiti establishment to reduce oil supply so prices can rise. When Kuwait refused and remained insubordinate Saddam ordered the attack.

At this point Katiyal believes the attack is one of the many minor border skirmishes. He asks Amrita to take the child away to London for a few days until things cool down.

In short order he discovers Iraqi soldiers are overrunning Kuwait and preying the city and indiscriminately targeting and murdering Kuwaiti citizens. Katiyal and Nair, his Indian driver, drive to the Indian Embassy. They are stopped by angry teenage Iraqi soldiers and when Nair begins pleading in Arabic, he is shot dead. Katiyal manages to reach the Embassy. The consul, a friend of Katiyal, explains that the Kuwaiti government has fled and Kuwaiti money is now worthless.

The 170,000 Indians in Kuwait are now refugees until India decides its policy.

The story goes on where Katiyal is taken to the Emir palace, where the Iraqi major Khalaf – who is now in charge, extends his personal friendship with Katiyal for the old good relations, stating that Katiyal should transact business with him which includes supplies, transport and anything else that is needed.

Furthermore, Katiyal tries all possible ways to help all the Indians (now knows as Indian refugees!) to get back to their motherland – India.

However, he discovers that even the Indian Embassy has been evacuated and therefore he calls the Indian External Affairs Ministry back in New Delhi, India where he reaches the Joint Secretary – Mr. Kohli who tries to help them out after multiple pleadings from Katiyal.

Katiyal to try his luck arrives in Baghdad and he realizes that the Indian Embassy is of no help, as the counsel says he cannot issue passports since there are many others who are not Indian (Pakistanis or Bangladeshis) who can conveniently use this war as an excuse to claim Indian nationality.

The last option left with Katiyal was to talk to the Iraqi Foreign Minister – Mr. Aziz who is understanding about the problem and discloses that an Indian merchant ship (Tipu Sultan) is due to arrive in Iraq and he will tacitly permit 500 Indians to leave on the ship!!

But this plan fails as Katiyal receives news that there is a UN embargo and the ships are barred from entering or leaving Iraq.

Katiyal tries all he can and finally he has no other option that to load all the Indians and leave to Jordan. There he had to fight with Iraqi soldiers and they all finally arrive in Jordan and the Amman Embassy receives a word in the nick of time to let them leave for India.

Kohli had after all successfully negotiated safe passage of all the Indians.

AIR INDIA supplies the planes and the pilots who were initially skeptical of taking the risk to fly over the war zone.

Finally the Indian tricolor is hoisted over the Jordan airport and the film comes to an end after Katiyal has sent all the other passengers successfully back to their homeland – India!!!

The movie ends with a dialogue which touched my heart – ‘And I will never ask, "What did India do for me?"’

If you ask why should we even live here? Or what is there in India to stay back? Or even the worst, “what has India done for me?”

Ask yourself once, “WHAT HAVE I DO SO FAR FOR MY COUNTRY?”

Hats off to the brave people who in real helped all the people to come back safely and to the director / producer of this movie who put this across us, Indians!! :)