Airlift, opening in cinemas on Thursday, January 21, is a very special film for Akshay Kumar.
The Bollywood thriller focuses on a largely forgotten episode from the 1990 Iraq-Kuwait war when India, with the help of Kuwait-based businessman Ranjit Katyal, staged the spectacular evacuation of 170,000 expatriates and flew them home over 59 days.
'I want each and every Indian to watch this film and feel proud of being an Indian," demanded Kumar, who portrays man-of-the-hour Katyal, at a recent press conference. Directed by Raja Menon and featuring The Lunchbox star Nimrat Kaur, Airlift aims to pull the historic event out of obscurity and, in the process, tell the story of the heroes who made it possible.
As someone who has now appeared in scores of films, Kumar’s position in the industry is unassailable. With no godfather in the industry and entirely self-made, he has proved his versatility, performing in comedy, drama, romcoms and action thrillers, proving that he can hold his own against the best in the business.
Such as the Khan triumvirate – Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh – for whom he admits having a “healthy jealousy”.
But Kumar, 48, has managed carved out his own niche in Bollywood. Apart from setting up his own production houses and also working in television, Kumar enjoys the respect of the film fraternity for the critical and commercial success of films such as Rowdy Rathore, Holiday, Housefull, Housefull 2, Baby (which was shot in Abu Dhabi) and Singh is Kinng.
Over the years, he has become a mini-film industry of sorts, churning out several movies a year, most of them hits at the box office. Producers regard him as a dependable star who can guarantee the numbers at the box office.
If Kumar had not hit the big time in Bollywood, he would probably have worked as a martial arts trainer. He spent his early years working as a chef and waiter in a restaurant in Bangkok, while training hard in taekwondo – he has a black belt. When he returned to India, he began teaching martial arts. One of his students, struck by his poise and charisma, urged him to try his hand at modelling. It proved to be the stepping stone for his entry into the Hindi film industry. His knowledge of martial arts proved to be a bonus, and soon began to perform his own stunts in films, and came to be called “the Indian Jackie Chan”.
With a net worth of US$33.5 million, the actor last year ranked ninth on Forbes’ first global list of the highest-paid actors in the world – edging out Hollywood stars such as Johnny Depp, Brad Pit and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Kumar's performance in Airlift is bound to bring him special praise, seeing that the subject is something close to his heart – he says he thinks about it every day as a reminder of human vulnerability. Airlift also reminds him of the 1965 drama Waqt, which he says had a tremendous effect on him for the way it showed how a rich and happy man who has everything he wants loses it all overnight when an earthquake strikes.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai recently while promoting Airlift, Kumar said he had felt quite emotional during the shooting.
‘I think this will happen to anyone who cares for the people and country because the film is about someone who cared for his country and sacrificed a lot. I think when people watch it, they will also feel the same way,’ he said.
artslife@thenational.ae