Captain Cool: My quick take on Ajay Devgan’s “Runway 34”
A few of my earliest memories of good movies about airplane mishaps were the Airport series (Airport, Airport 75, Airport 77 & Airport 79 (Concord)), while Bollywood did not have much to show in this genre except for Neerja, Bellbottom, or Zameen. Ajay Devgan has now taken off with his movie “Runway 34” which is slightly different than most airplane-based movies as they either deal with hijack or bomb scare or snakes on the plane, while this Devgan movie has neither bomb nor bombshells 😊 nor Nagins on board. It just deals with a real-life incident in which a Dubai-Kochi-bound flight must make an emergency landing at Trivandrum airport due to inclement weather conditions. Of course, it is piloted by the chief pilot of the movie who is the Producer, Director as well as and actor in the movie.
Although it is claimed to be based on a real-life incident, I, however, feel it is a lot inspired by Clint Eastwood directed movie “Sully”, in which Captain Sully (played by Tom Hanks) has to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River and saves 150 odd lives. Here too Ajay Devgan saves the lives of 150 people by force landing his 777 aircraft in inclement weather conditions with absolutely zero visibility. Similar to captain Sully, here too our Captain Vikrant Khanna who is hailed as a savior and a hero has to face a tribunal investigating this incident.
Captain Vikrant Khanna is portrayed as a brash, immensely arrogant, full of attitude, with major vices, but an exceptionally intelligent professional with a photographic memory in the build-up. Rakul Preet Singh portrays his co-pilot, and she does a good job in the role. Typically, aviation-themed films finish when the plane arrives and the passengers are evacuated, but in Runway 34, the true drama begins after the emergency landing. This is when Big B enters the picture as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense investigator who has never heard of the word "pardon" and is hell-bent on exposing Captain Vikrant. Is he successful in apprehending Vikrant or is Vikrant set free? This is the film's main premise.
It’s a claustrophobic setup; in the first half, we are confined to the tube of 777 while in the second half the movie is set in a courtroom-type tribunal. But team VFX and production designers have to be applauded for their contribution. The cockpit shots and the airplane interior mockups created by the team were impressive. The wavering/swaying of airplane in inclement weather, gloomy and thunderous clouds, emergency landing sequence, and control tower shots are all very well done. The passengers in the movie may remind you of the cliched passenger list of “Bombay to Goa” with some Volatile passengers, some goofy personalities, some patients (yep – it’s a Parsi character).
Director Ajay Devgan successfully creates suspense, anxiety, and drama in both mid-air and courtroom situations. In his part as Captain Vikrant, he impresses as well, as does his co-pilot. Big B will remind you of his role as an advocate in Pink, and he is without a doubt the Shahenshah of acting. However, I found a few of his dialog delivery to be a little muffled or inaudible; hopefully, this was due to a poor recording, and I hope that his rich vocal box with that baritone has not deteriorated with age.
The movie is worth a watch for the simple reason Bollywood has at least attempted a new subject and it should be lauded. The movie may not be a runaway success as compared to KGFs and RRRs but it succeeds in leaving its mark as a “hatke” movie.
Comments