I
happened to see the film “Airlift” and was aghast at the way the writers have taken
liberties with portraying the Foreign Minister and members of the Indian
Foreign Service who were in deployment at the time of the occurrence of the
event viz. Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (aka Iraq-Kuwait war) in August 1990. The
promos of the film claim it to be based on a ‘Real Event’ but the depiction is
a horrible mutilation of the facts.
The following excerpts from some reports available on the net also speak highly of Kamal Bakshi.
"Mr. Fabian, who was the Joint Secretary, Gulf division of the MEA, at the time of the first Gulf War, has commented on the film saying: “A lot of the viewers of the film were born after the incident. They need to be educated on their genuine inheritance and history from the First Gulf War. For example, the Ambassador of India in Kuwait, Kamal Bakshi, was portrayed in a very poor light. In reality, Ambassador Bakshi accommodated hundreds of Indians in the embassy and in several other buildings.
The Indian
ambassador in Iraq at the time of the event has been shown as a helpless good-for-nothing fellow. However, the fact is that I vividly remember the newspapers of
the day showering accolades on Kamal Bakshi, the then ambassador in Iraq for deftly handling the very tough situation.
Kamal
Bakshi had come in praise from I.K.Gujral, the then foreign minister. In his
autobiography entitled “Matters of Discretion”, Gujral has written that
“Ambassador Kamal Bakshi, who was coping extremely well with the situation,
told me that there were about 500 persons who had yet to be evacuated but the
requisitioned six buses from Amman had not turned up.”
The following excerpts from some reports available on the net also speak highly of Kamal Bakshi.
"Mr. Fabian, who was the Joint Secretary, Gulf division of the MEA, at the time of the first Gulf War, has commented on the film saying: “A lot of the viewers of the film were born after the incident. They need to be educated on their genuine inheritance and history from the First Gulf War. For example, the Ambassador of India in Kuwait, Kamal Bakshi, was portrayed in a very poor light. In reality, Ambassador Bakshi accommodated hundreds of Indians in the embassy and in several other buildings.
Mr.
Fabian said the film even showed Air India pilots in a demeaning manner. The
Air India did a great job, he said."
"Nirupama
Rao, former ambassador of India to the United States of America, has stated, in a series of tweets, that the makers of the
film didn't do enough research on the role external affairs ministry played.
She said she has no issues with fiction till the time makers don't make a
"biased" and "ludicrous" projection of the government's
role.
She
also pointed out how competent India's Ambassador to Baghdad Kamal Bakshi, foreign minister IK Gujral and
India's Ambassador to Kuwait in 1990-91 were, and how they all worked to ensure
safety of suffering Indians in Kuwait."
Many
people will pardon the writers, producers and director of the film with the
excuse that artistic liberties can be taken when the sole objective is
entertainment. Though I do not personally agree with this line of thought, I
would dismiss the lapses as act of arrogance and ignorance.
When I
saw "Airlift", I got reminded of “Hotel Rwanda” a very fine, sensible and
sensitive Hollywood movie which is also based on similar real events.
"Hotel Rwanda is set in 1994 during the Rwandan Genocide, in which
an estimated 800,000 people, mainly Tutsi, were killed by Hutu extremists.
During that year, Rwanda's population of seven million was composed of two
major groups: Hutu (approximately 85%), and Tutsi (14%). In the early 1990s,
Hutu extremists within Rwanda's political elite blamed the entire Tutsi
minority population for the country's economic and political problems. Tutsi
civilians were also accused of supporting a Tutsi-dominated rebel group, the
Rwandan Patriotic Front.
On
April 6, 1994, a plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot
down. Following that incident, the genocide began. Hutu extremists belonging to
the Interahamwe militia launched plans to destroy the entire Tutsi civilian
population. Tutsi and people suspected of being Tutsi were killed in their
homes and as they tried to flee the country. Hotelier Paul Rusesabagina of the
Belgian owned luxury Hôtel des Mille Collines, used his power and influence to
personally save both Tutsi and Hutu refugees. Rusesabagina regularly bribed
Rwandan Hutu soldiers and kept militias outside the hotel's property during the
hundred days of killing. Following the carnage, Rusesabagina survived along
with his wife, four children, two adopted nieces; as well as most of the
refugees he sheltered."
I felt
that some characters and scenes shown in "Airlift" have just been lifted from “Hotel
Rwanda”.
- The character of Major Khalaf Bin Zayd seems to be ‘inspired’ by General Bizimungu of "Hotel Rwanda". Particularly notable is the similarity of both accepting and enjoying being offered scotch whiskey as a bribe.
- Even,
the development of the character of Ranjit seems to be based
on the character of Paul, the protagonist of "Hotel Rwanda". At the beginning,
Paul is far more anxious to protect his family than he is to protect his neighbours.
But as the film progresses his sense of obligation to his neighbours and
his countrymen deepens. Indeed, rather than abandon the refugees he has
taken under his shelter, he sends his family to safety while he himself
stays behind.
- The
uniforms of the drivers Dube in "Hotel Rawanda" and Nair in "Airlift" are of
the same colour.
- The
pep talk given by Amrita to Ranjit in "Airlift" is similar to the morale
booster talk given to Paul by his wife Titania in "Hotel Rwanda"
I must
admit that one character in "Airlift" has no equivalent in “Hotel Rwanda”. It
seems to be totally original and lifted from life. This is the character of
George Kutty. I am unfortunate to have met a very similar character in life: a
most selfish, conceited, demanding and greedy fellow who did nothing for
anybody but always wanted to extract something from whoever he met. When he got
what he wanted, he complained about one thing or the other like bad quality, lesser
quantity, inauspicious timing, inordinate delay and if nothing else the intention of the giver.
I do
not know whether actor Prakash Belawadi had also met this person because he
looked very competent enacting that character. He almost lived him.
I have
a very strong feeling that the writers of "Airlift" took the story line from "Hotel Rwanda" and adapted it to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. In the process of showing
the equivalent of deserting Kuwaiti Royal Family, the helplessness of UN
Peace-keeping force and the apathy of the US, UK, France, Belgium and other
white governments, they have conveniently turned “ Indian Foreign Service” and
the bureaucracy into a scapegoat. Perhaps, the makers of the film were supremely confident that not only they would be tolerated and would, therefore, escape unscathed, but also that they would find enough supporters and would laugh all the way to the bank or wherever
else they stash their cash.
Some
Indians do enjoy masochism and some others indulge their sadistic pleasures!!!
References
1. IK Gujral on Kamal Bakshi
2.
Nirupama Rao on “Airlift”
3. KP
Fabian on “Airlift”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/airlift-spreads-misinformation-says-kp-fabian/article8169027.ece
4. Development
of plot of “ Hotel Rwanda”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Rwanda
1 comment:
Very well put! I can compare the movie to Argo which also had a similar situation but stuck more or less to facts with dramatisations. I am wondering why film making as a medium is not treated seriously enough here, to record history and record even for a change, some great service done by the government and bureaucrats. Is the overly ritualistic shrad the only way to honor the past - that too by wasting food?
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