Cyclone Fani- A Job Well Done

The government doing a great job? It showed us what can happen when all the wings of government work together with focus. Of course, we have seen it before in our Space program or Nuclear Program, or even Weather Satellites Development (which is one reason why this disaster was managed so well).

This could easily have been a Killer cyclone with thousands of deaths, but timely evacuation and provision of services to the evacuated people (like shelters), turned it into just another storm, weathered well.

When I lived in the U.S., there was Hurricane Hugo which hit the South Carolina coast, and the damage was extensive. We heard stories from affected people, and they were bad- late 80s sometime.

I am glad an Indian State has made such progress in managing crises created by natural forces. May the Force be with us, for greater good of our citizens.

Airlift- Film Review

Who is responsible for citizens of a country who go out to make a living in another country? The host country? The Home country? They themselves? This is one of the key questions this film explores, along with that famous John F. Kennedy quote- "Ask not what your country can do for you. Rather, ask what you can do for your country."

So we have this ordinary business-minded guy, an Indian who considers himself a Kuwaiti, until Saddam invades Kuwait, around 1990. How he deals with his new-found patriotism for India and turns into a hero against the wishes of his wife (Nimrat Kaur-I wish she somehow stayed on screen longer) and opposition of some of the people he is trying to save from inavading soldiers, is the story of the film.

The first half is a bit of a drag, but the story picks up speed in the second half, and the feelings of the characters come through. Akshay thankfully underplays his role, and that works. An American style gung-ho hero would have been tough to tolerate. The Indian bureaucracy and politicians  come off as slow to act in a crisis, but that is a known story. But in the end, they too redeem themselves, along with the Air India pilots-they volunteer to fly into a war zone for the evacuation. Those who complain about Air India losing money, should definitely see this film. It is uplifting (pun not totally intended).