My intentions should not get muddied by nitpicking: Raja Krishna Menon

Airlift director Raja Krishna Menon responds to the criticism against the ‘historical inaccuracies’ in his film

Airlift, the evacuation drama about the 1990 rescue of thousands of Indians stranded in Kuwait after Saddam Hussain’s invasion, has triggered a heap of controversies regarding certain historical inaccuracies. Even officials from the Ministry of External Affairs have jumped into the debate, claiming the film shows them unnecessarily in an unflattering light. Director Raja Krishna Menon spoke to us about the backlash to his film.

Raja, what do you have to say about criticism that you’ve taken too many liberties with facts It is baffling! My intention was to show the Indian government in a good light. I feel the whole evacuation process was a great achievement for India. I wanted to celebrate that achievement. I was greatly moved by the plight of the Indians who were affected by the invasion of Kuwait. I wanted to tell their story. I wanted to tell a human story, a dramatic story for the contemporary generations to connect with the facts. For that I had to take liberties with some aspects of the story.

But experts point out that there was never a Ranjit Katyal, as played by Akshay Kumar I have always said Ranjit is an amalgamation of several heroes who helped in the rescue operations. In fact we have a big disclaimer in the beginning. I have not made a documentary on the 1990 evacuation in Kuwait. I have not documented history. I have only documented the drama behind the story. Unfortunately no one thought of doing this before me.

Thanks to you, we know about the incident That’s precisely why I needed to make this film. My moment of triumph was when Michael Mascarenhas, who headed the Air India rescue operations in Kuwait, called me when the controversies regarding factual liberties broke out. He said, “I believe 25 years after the incident, someone — a filmmaker — has given us credit for what we did.” I feel when you come out of the woodwork to make accusations about factual inaccuracy, you are missing the larger picture.

And what is that larger picture The human drama. My story is a human story told against a historical backdrop where I’ve employed as much truth as I possibly could.

K.P. Fabian, who was joint secretary of the Gulf division of the MEA, at the time of the First Gulf War during 1990-91, has accused the film of trivialising the issue and spreading misinformation. Even his statements are being questioned. But I respect his opinion. All of us have telescoped opinions of what happened at a certain point in history. But if you speak to Joe Mathews, who is the son of Sunny Mathews (one of the characters on whom Akhay’s Ranjit Katyal is based), he would give you a very different picture of how Mr Fabian handled the situation. But I didn’t want to get into the politics of the crisis then. I don’t want to get into now.

So the characters are more symbolic than real Like I said I was, and I am, interested in the human drama. And Ranjit Katyal represents the heroism of the crisis while Sanjeev Kohli (played by Kumud Mishra) represents the Indian democracy. I wanted today’s Young India to feel a sense of pride about what India and Indians achieved during a time when they weren’t even born. My intentions should not get muddied by nitpicking.

But to be noticed by the bureaucracy and the Indian government shows the film’s impact I agree! The fact that my film has connected with the people who were part of the evacuation shows I’ve succeeded. In fact I was very happy when Mr Vikas Swarup (the spokesperson of the Ministry Of External Affairs) tweeted saying my film a good entertainer but filled with historical inaccuracies. I am reiterating that I’ve taken artistic liberties. But I don’t think I’ve misrepresented anyone or tried to malign anyone at all.

Did you expect so much attention for the film Not at all. I am completely amazed! I thought people would ask why I was depicting the Indian bureaucracy so heroically. But the opposite happened.

How did you get interested in the 1990 evacuation I was involved in student politics in Kerala when it had happened. A majority of Indians in Kuwait were from Kerala. So I knew a lot of people who were actually stranded and rescued from Kuwait. Much later, in 2003, I thought of making a film on the theme. It was a film waiting to be made. And I am glad I made it. Getting Akshay Kumar to get involved couldn’t have been easy We spent three weeks discussing the politics of the situation. He wasn’t shy of asking questions. At the risk of sounding like a fan-boy, I have to admit that Akshay brought a lot to the project. Once he came on board, he gave me the freedom to make the film that I wanted him to make. He surrendered to the project and character. He has played the character with the honesty that one would expect from a Naseeruddin Shah or an Irrfan I came out of the experience with a completely changed view of a star and stardom. I still remember how excited he was when I told him Priya Seth (the DOP) was going to shoot the film. Now Akshay is a huge supporter of Priya’s work. I think he admires her work more than me.

Have you collaborated with Priya earlier We’ve shot 70 commercials together. She also shot my first film Barah Ana. She will definitely shoot my next feature film.