Airlift is one of Akshay Kumar’s best-known films. Nikkhil Advani, who was a co-producer of the movie, recently revealed that Raja Menon, the director, didn’t want to cast Akshay Kumar and rather preferred Irrfan Khan for the lead role.
Nevertheless, it was Irrfan who suggested that Nikkhil would have a significant budget for production if he picked any film in which Akshay had acted. In an interview on Galatta Plus, Nikkhil recounted, “Airlift’s director Raja Menon wanted Irrfan, which was fine for us because he was working on D-Day. I told them I would set up the meeting with Irrfan, and Irrfan overheard me. He told me, ‘Boss, mere sath mat kar ye picture (Don’t do this film with me). It is a fantastic film but don’t do it with me because you will not get the budget. Go to Akshay. You know Akshay.'”
Nikkhil continued that he went to Akshay with another film but he deemed it trash. He then narrated Airlift and informed him that Irrfan didn’t want to touch it. Akki enquired why he has approached him then, to which he replied that it is a serious movie, which requires him memorizing lines. He also added that the director wants him to do a certain workshops.
Airlift was received with wide applause from critics and fans alike and was also a box office success.
