Airlift is a Hindi-language drama thriller movie that came out in 2016 and was directed by Raja Krishna Menon. The lead roles were played by Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur. The movie's plot is set in 1990, where Ranjit Katyal, an Indian expatriate businessman residing in Kuwait, lives a content li...

Airlift is a Hindi-language drama thriller movie that came out in 2016 and was directed by Raja Krishna Menon. The lead roles were played by Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur. The movie's plot is set in 1990, where Ranjit Katyal, an Indian expatriate businessman residing in Kuwait, lives a content life with his wife, Amrita, and their daughter, Simu. Ranjit is quite influential in Kuwait City and Baghdad, and he considers himself Kuwaiti. He often looks down on Indians, despite his Indian origin. After a night of partying, Ranjit receives a phone call from his friend informing him about the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops. Ranjit discovers that the city is now occupied by the Iraqi army, so he decides to go to the Indian embassy with his driver, Nair, to rescue his family. However, they are stopped at a checkpoint by Iraqi soldiers, and Nair is shot dead in the ensuing confusion. Later, Ranjit is taken to the Emir's palace, where he meets Major Khalaf bin Zayd, an Iraqi Republican Guard officer who knows him from his previous visits to Iraq. Major Khalaf reprimands him for his arrogance but also extends his friendship, ensuring Ranjit and his family's safety from the soldiers. Ranjit is shocked by the turn of events but relieved that his family is safe. After learning that the Kuwaiti government has fled into exile, Ranjit heads to the Indian embassy where he discovers that around 170,000 Indians are stranded in Kuwait as refugees. The Iraqi forces are advancing, and they even raid Ranjit's mansion, forcing his wife and child to flee to his office. Ranjit rallies his friends to come together, and they manage to secure permission from Major Khalaf to set up a makeshift camp for approximately 500 stranded Indians. Amrita, Ranjit's wife, urges him to prioritize his own family's safety, but he decides to have a change of heart and stays back to help all the other Indians leave Kuwait, instead of just looking out for himself.