Airlift

In 1990, as Iraq invades Kuwait, negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait collapse and deadly incursions start. Ranjit Katyal wakes to a phone call and learns the situation is deteriorating rapidly. Iraqi troops begin occupying Kuwait City, setting the stage for his decisions.

Ranjit and his driver Nair attempt to flee to the Indian embassy to evacuate his family. They are stopped by Iraqi Soldiers at a checkpoint, and Nair is shot dead in the chaos. This brutal moment forces Ranjit into immediate danger and pain.

Ranjit is taken to the Emir's palace where Major Khalaf bin Zayd reveals he was the one who halted them earlier. Khalaf chides him but offers personal protection and ensures Ranjit's family's safety. The pair develop a fragile, wary understanding amid the invasion.

From the embassy, Ranjit learns that the Kuwaiti government has fled into exile while roughly 170,000 Indians become stranded refugees. The magnitude of the crisis becomes personal as he calculates who else may be trapped. Iraqi forces continue raiding homes and neighborhoods.

Iraqi soldiers raid Ranjit's mansion, but his wife Amrita and daughter Simu manage to escape to his office. Ranjit must improvise to protect them in a rapidly collapsing city. The two sides remain on edge as the siege tightens around them.

Ranjit convinces his friends to work together to set up a makeshift camp for around 500 Indians, with Major Khalaf's permission. Amrita encourages him to use his leverage to rescue his own family, but he chooses to stay and help others. The human cost of the crisis becomes clearer here.

Ranjit calls the Indian External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi and reaches Joint Secretary Sanjiv Kohli to request evacuation arrangements. It highlights the bureaucratic dimension of the crisis as diplomacy tries to catch up with events. The conversation marks the shift from personal heroism to organized evacuation.

Kohli is inspired by his father’s Partition-era tale and becomes active in the rescue. He approaches Air India to lead the evacuation and coordinates with the Indian embassy in Amman to issue permits. The plan begins to take shape to move thousands of Indians home.

Saddam's regime permits an Indian merchant ship to depart Kuwait carrying refugees, but news of a UN embargo soon blocks all ships from entering or leaving Iraq, crushing the immediate hope of an escape by sea. The plan shifts again as borders close.

Kohli pushes for a practical evacuation; Air India and Indian Airlines start evacuating Indians from Kuwait via Jordan. Ranjit's loyalty to his fellow refugees is tested as he negotiates checkpoints with hostile Iraqi soldiers.

At a final checkpoint, Ranjit's convoy faces hostile soldiers who threaten Amrita without passports or IDs. A skirmish erupts, but the refugees are outnumbered the Iraqi troops and the convoy is allowed to pass. The moment is a turning point as the group reaches safety.

In Jordan, planes from Air India and Indian Airlines fly the refugees back to India. The rescued Indians salute Ranjit as they board, recognizing his leadership in the crisis. Ranjit, however, struggles with guilt as he confronts the Indian Tricolor and the question of his opinion about India.

The evacuation culminates with the refugees arriving in India, while Ranjit acknowledges that India did at times ignore its own citizens but also saved many who were stranded. The experience leaves him with a nuanced respect for his country and a personal change in how he views Indians.