The Indian film “Airlift” which is based on a true story from the 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait just got a local release date. According to the Cinescape website, the film will be released locally on January 28th. Some readers had emailed me concerned that the film was being banned because KNCC had removed it from the coming soon list but its now back up there along with a release date. I’ve shared the official trailer above although it doesn’t have English subtitles (I couldn’t find one with). [YouTube]
Update: Here is the link to the trailer in low-res but with English subtitles [Link]
Update2: Airlift has now been banned in Kuwait. [Link]
28 replies on “Airlift Movie Release Date”
Hi Mark
It’s a fiction created based on a true incident.
KK
Here’s an amateur trailer video with English subtitles. It’s not without a few grammatical errors but it’ll do. I was really worried it’d be another Akshay Kumar piece of schlock but it’s gotten praise from every reputable Bollywood film critic and audiences in India and Dubai loved it! I’m really excited to see it. I know you can’t stand Bollywood films, but you should watch it. All Bollywood films released in Kuwait contain both English & Arabic subtitles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiZ57eHnow
I don’t mind Bollywood films, I just can’t stand musicals.
That’s a common misconception. Most Bollywood films are not musicals.
I didn’t say they were, you assumed I didn’t like bollywood films when in reality I just don’t like musicals.
I’m not assuming, I distinctly remember you telling me “I don’t like Bollywood films because I don’t like musicals.”
But hey maybe…….I don’t know….I wasn’t trying to ruffle your feathers, sorry if I did.
I think you just misread what I had previously written or forgotten what I had written. Check out my comment in this link: https://248am.com/mark/movies/new-film-on-the-1990-iraq-invasion/
I said “i just hope its not a musical”.
I didn’t mention not liking Bollywood films or anything of the sort. I actually did a search of all the mentions of “Bollywood” on the blog and the only time I ever mentioned bollywood in the comments was today and the only time i mentioned musicals was in the link I just shared.
Oh no, it was a private conversation. You didn’t mention anything of the sort on here.
It’s funny how this movie is about Kuwait but it hasn’t been filmed out here nor has it been released here…. ! Is it tough to get permissions etc. For filming a movie ?
It’s not funny, its pretty standard. TV shows and movies are not filmed in actual locations, they’re filmed in other locations that can be considered similar.
Kuwait doesn’t have the infrastructure nor the industry to support such a large film. Lebanon, Egypt and the UAE on the other hand do and from those three the UAE looks the closest to Kuwait.
Does xyz realize how many Hollywood films set in Connecticut or New York are actually filmed in Vancouver, Canada?
I heard a lot of Indians in Kuwait griping about Airlift not being shot in Kuwait when they know that every film industry in the world (including Bollywood) sometimes shoot in locations that are considered similar looking. To give a recent example, Fitoor is set in Kashmir but certain scenes of the film were actually shot in Poland.
What Indians should be more considered about is why hasn’t Akshay Kumar or Nimrat Kaur visited Kuwait to promote their film or even just say hello to their thousands of fans, many of whom were part of the 170,000 who were airlifted in 1990. That’s why I’d complain about.
Dear Roy,
I totally agree with you. They are only interested in their coffeurs.
You know it!
I expected more from Nimrat.
Why is that ?
Why do you expect more from her ?
Was she or her parents based in Kuwait ?
Every actor is supposed to do a shit ton of research and preparation for their character.
Marlon Brando and John Cassavetes for examplewere “method” actors. They took it all the way! They behaved like their characters completely off set as in they talked like them, walked like them and ate like them until the film was in the can.
All Nimrat had to do was hop on a plane and come here to do some research on her character and Kuwait in general. The plane ride is only four hours long. And she’s a pro….that’s why I expect more from her, she was in The Lunchbox which is arguably the most critically acclaimed Bollywood film both in India and the world at large and she was in Homeland, which is one of HBO’s most successful shows ever.
Also, there are tens of thousands of Indians here who got on one of those planes and still remember the whole ordeal vividly. They are overjoyed by the fact that Bollywood is telling this story in a beautiful way and many of them are huge Akshay Kumar fans.
It would have been a nice gesture from his side if he took a one hour plane ride (the man is always in UAE) to come here and meet them.
Yeah but thousands of Indians have also LEFT Kuwait since the invasion – so im sure she could have done her character research without having to come to a place that now is more hostile to Indians than before.
The Gulf War, which Airlift depicts, took place in Kuwait so it would have helped her greatly to conduct research here.
thanks for the info mark, i was going to download via net since it was not playing in kuwait,
but now i can wait another few days……
Check these out for more information about the actual events
There were many heroes and the below is just one of them
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Tea-official-became-ambassador-to-evacuate-1-lakh-Indians-in-90/articleshow/38932856.cms
Do we know what it was with the film that was deemed objectionable by the local censors, in the first place?! Will make for the most amusing and entertaining reading.
On Bollywood films- for the most part, they are crap barring a few exceptions that you can easily count on your finger tips. Whereas if you ever get a chance to watch some artsy non mainstream cinema from India, you will find it your money’s worth; especially, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, and Malayalam films rather than Bollywood Hindi which generally are rather lame and an insult to the intellect.
Exchange notes with the movies buff, Mr. Behbehani or Mr. Kazi who was the ex director of National School of Drama, New Delhi and who is domiciled in Kuwait on good cinema to have come out of India- yes, there exists such a thing as that.
I wouldn’t call Vishal Bharadwaj and Anurag Kashyap’s work “an insult to the intellect” and their films always make money. They always straddle that fine line between art & commerce.
I agree, I love watching Malayalam and Bengali arthouse films but Bollywood has always produced some great arthouse work such as Masaan, The Lunchbox, Arth (really old but a personal favorite) and Ship of Theseus, which my friend and I screened last year right here in Kuwait. Those were all Bollywood productions by the way and they won major awards at the Cannes, Venice and Berlin film festival.
You’re confusing Bollywood films with Bollywood masala films.
No, the movie currently doesn’t have a release date in Kuwait. It’s not banned and not approved. The ministry hasn’t made a final decision yet. Source: Cinescape. Call center 1803456.
The movie doesn’t appear in the ‘Coming Soon’ page once again? Now?
If you are expecting some valiant action on borders or deeper inside you will be definitely disappointed. Seen the movie, couple of songs but in background, not hugging trees or something. My rating … Awsum! for human resolve to survive and join together in time of need. The movie also shows a Kuwaiti girl being rescued, rest watch when it is released.
https://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/son-of-sunny-mathews-the-real-ranjit-katyal-gives-an-account-of-his-father-s-sacrifice-249783.html
The movie has been removed again from the Coming Soon.
I watched the uncensored version yesterday. No way is this movie going to be released in its entirety in Kuwait. No way.
You wanna elaborate on that?