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Director Menon wrote the script after studying the whole incident of war and the predicament of Indians based in Kuwait.[6] He then approached Akshay Kumar for the role of a character based on Mathunny Mathews,[7] He agreed to act and produce under his banner of Hari Om Entertainment,[6][8] Kumar reported that his 80% profit share will be included in the film's budget and he would not charge fees.[9][10] Filming began in February 2015.[11][12] The first schedule of the film was reportedly shot in Al-Hamra Palace Beach Resort in Ras Al Khaimah.[13][14] The sets were re-created to depict Kuwait during 1990.[15] The film was shot in several locations including, Ujjain, Bhuj and [16] Rajasthan. Kumar collaborated with the flight company Air India to promote the film who had a major contribution in the evacuation of record-breaking number of Indians during the war.[17]
In 1990, Indian expatriate Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar) is a successful businessman based in Kuwait, and is very well-connected with officials in Kuwait City and Baghdad. He has a happy home with his wife Amrita (Nimrat Kaur) and their daughter Simu. He calls himself a Kuwaiti and is often derisive towards Indians.
After a night of partying, Ranjit is woken up to a phone call from his friend and receives word that negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait have collapsed, and Iraqi troops have begun their invasion of Kuwait. The next morning, Ranjit discovers that Kuwait City is now occupied by the Iraqi Army. Ranjit and Nair, his driver, go out and drive to the Indian embassy in an attempt to take their family and leave Kuwait. They are stopped by Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint and Nair is shot dead amidst the confusion. A shocked Ranjit is then taken to the Emir's palace. There he meets Iraqi Republican Guard officer Major Khalaf bin Zayd (Inaamulhaq), who reveals that he was the one who pulled up to the checkpoint earlier and prevented Ranjit from being harmed. Major Khalaf, who knows Ranjit from Ranjit's visits to Iraq, chides him but extends his personal friendship, ensuring Ranjit and his family's safety from the soldiers.
From there, Ranjit goes to the Indian embassy where he learns that the Kuwaiti government has fled into exile. Some 170,000 Indians in Kuwait are now stranded as refugees. Iraqi forces continue to push through Kuwait and Ranjit's mansion is raided by Iraqi soldiers, but his wife and child manage to escape to his office. Ranjit convinces his friends to work together, and they set up a makeshift camp for some 500 Indians with Major Khalaf's permission. Amrita urges Ranjit to use his leverage to extricate his own family, but Ranjit, who ordinarily would have just looked out for himself, appears to have a change of heart. He decides to stay and help the other Indians leave Kuwait.
Ranjit learns that the Indian embassy in Kuwait has been evacuated and phones the Indian External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, where he reaches the Joint Secretary, Sanjiv Kohli (Kumud Mishra), and asks for arrangements to be made for the evacuation. Later, the camp is looted by Iraqi soldiers and they harass some of the refugees. Ranjit pays a visit to Major Khalaf and talks to him about this, to which the Major simply extends his apologies, and also reveals that President Saddam has already permitted Indians to leave Kuwait, but the problem is that they have no way to do so. Ranjit travels to Baghdad to try to negotiate safe passage out of Kuwait, but to no avail. The only remaining option, Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, turns out to be helpful. He discloses that an Indian merchant ship is due to arrive in Iraq with various supplies, and permits the Indian refugees to leave on the ship. However, Ranjit later receives news of the UN embargo which bars ships from entering or leaving Iraq, effectively crushing their hopes of getting out.
Meanwhile, Kohli is somewhat of a sluggard, but when his father (Arun Bali) recounts their tale of woe during the partition of India, Kohli is inspired to actively help Ranjit. He approaches the national airline, Air India, to lead an evacuation of the 170,000 Indians in Kuwait and gets the Indian embassy in Amman, Jordan to issue permits. As the Indians leave Kuwait, Ranjit comes across yet another checkpoint where he encounters hostile Iraqi soldiers who, in absence of any passports or IDs, threaten to kill Amrita. A skirmish erupts between Ranjit and the soldiers, following which the people in Ranjit's convoy come forward and outnumber the Iraqi soldiers. Ranjit lets them live and the convoy passes. They arrive in Jordan where planes from Air India and Indian Airlines would fly the refugees back to India. The Indians salute Ranjit as they board the planes that will take them home. Ranjit however begins to feel guilty over his attitude towards Indians as he sees the Indian Tricolour. The film ends with Ranjit indicating that he always believed India never did anything for its citizens, but after being rescued by the country he and a lot of Indians had disowned, he may not ever say that in the future.
According to the director of the film, Raja Krishna Menon, he wrote the script after studying the whole incident of war and the predicament of Indians based in Kuwait.[6] He then approached Akshay Kumar for the role of a character based on Mathunny Mathews,[7] the real life businessman who spearheaded the evacuation efforts named 'Ranjit Katyal', to which he agreed to act and produce under his banner of Hari Om Entertainment.[6][8] Kumar felt that the film possessed significant offbeat potential,[23] with a good amount of "patriotism" and a reason to be a proud Indian.[18][24] He stated that Balraj Sahni's role in the film Waqt (1965) is his inspiration for the role where an earthquake shatters the peaceful life of Sahni's character.[25]
Due to the film's theme based on the rescue operation, the film was compared with Ben Affleck-starrer Argo (2012) sharing the similar storyline. However, Kumar stated that the film does not have any connection with it and is completely based on a true story.[26] He also said that comparing the film with Argo is an "insult" and it is not a matter of humour for Indians to achieve this end.[26] Kumar reported that his 80% profit share will be included in the film's budget and he would not charge fees for the same.[9][10]
Principal photography was started in February 2015.[11][12] The first schedule of the film was reportedly shot in Al-Hamra Palace Beach Resort in Ras Al Khaimah[13] and Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh in early March 2015.[14] The sets were re-created to depict Kuwait during 1990.[15] The second schedule of the film was shot in Bhuj, Gujarat[16] and Rajasthan, India.[27]Kumar and Purab Kohli reportedly learnt Arabic language for their roles.[28][29] Final portions of the film were completed with shooting of a music video for the song "Soch" in December 2015.[30]
The soundtrack for Airlift was composed by Amaal Mallik except one song Dil Cheez Tujhe Dedi (music by Ankit Tiwari) (noted) and the lyrics were written by Kumaar.[31] The first song "Soch Na Sake" was released on T-Series official YouTube channel on 17 December 2015.[32][33] The full soundtrack album which includes 5 songs was released on 24 December 2015.[34][35] The music rights are acquired by T-Series.[36][37]
Airlift was released on a total number of 1,800 to 2,000 screens in India.[38] Overseas, including Middle East, the film released with total number of 70 screens on 21 January.[39] The film was declared tax free by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar state governments on 28 January and 17 February 2016.[40][41][42][43]
Anupama Chopra from Hindustan Times rated the film three and a half stars out of five, and described it as "Akshay Kumar's finest hour" and wrote "Big props to Akshay for putting his heart and might behind such an unconventional project, and to director Raja Krishna Menon for showcasing a story that had been lost on the sidelines. But Airlift never takes full flight because of the screenplay. Airlift is tonally inconsistent but the film is fuelled by a palpable sincerity."[59] Ritika Handoo of Zee News also gave it three and half stars out of five and termed Akshay as the "hero" of this film. She stated, "Akshay as Ranjit Katyal is the anchor of this ship called 'Indians' who need to sail smoothly ashore. The film shows how exactly the Indians in Kuwait were evacuated or rather 'airlifted' safely after Saddam Hussein led the Iraq war. Akshay is the hero because he played a man, who in real life, stretch his boundaries for saving humanity. Akshay's dedication and sincerity in portraying such roles with brilliance makes 'Airlift' have a safe landing even at the box office windows. A must watch for every Indian. Remember this will make you believe in what Indians can do when 'united'."[60] Shubhra Gupta in her review for The Indian Express also gave the film three and a half stars and noted " 'Airlift' plays it right, and gives us drama, even if things slow down and turn a trifle repetitious post interval. But overall, 'Airlift' is a good film, solidly plotted, well executed and well-acted. Just lose the songs, and the occasional underlined background music the next time."[61] Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN gave the film three and half stars, saying "The occasional speed bumps aside, there are many moments that soar. Raja Menon turns an important story into a compelling film. Don't miss it."[62] Arkadev Ghoshal of IBTimes India gave it three and half stars and stated, "Airlift" is probably a good release for the weekend preceding Republic Day, when patriotic sentiments are high. However, one only wishes that Menon had given a little more attention to some other aspects of the film. He does show promise, so here's expecting better cinema from him."[63] Sukanya Verma of Rediff also gave it three and half stars and termed the film as "taut, tense, terrific" and summarised, "Oh what a beauty Akshay's performance is. Old-school gallantry, contemporary tone, his measured delivery is the soul of and savior in Airlift. Larger-than-life might is commonplace, but larger-than-life intensity is rare. Here, it is unmistakable, unceasing."[64] Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave a 3 out of 5 star rating explaining that "Films about genuinely unsung heroes are a fine thing, and Raja Krishna Menon's Airlift is a sincere effort to celebrate an insanely daunting task."[65]
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