The Ministry has raised questions on the authenticity of the drama, stating that the Raja Krishna Menon film has conveniently ignored MEA’s role in the evacuation.
Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of MEA, said, “The fact that such a theme has been selected as the subject of a film shows how important it is. We consider protecting citizens of our country abroad as our foremost responsibility. We have proved that in the past and shall continue to do so in the future as well.” 
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Stressing that Airlift has taken artistic liberties, Swarup added, “This is a film and films often take liberties with actual events. Airlift has also taken a lot of liberties in the depiction of the events as they happened in 1990. Those who remember the event, will know the active role that the Ministry played, the official delegation that was sent to Baghdad and Kuwait and the tremendous co-ordination that took place between the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air India and a host of other government departments.”
He further elaborated, “I can vouch for it as I was in the frontline of evacuating Indians from Kuwait, who were coming into Turkey via Syria. Those who don’t remember the 90s evacuation would certainly remember the recent evacuations we have undertaken in Yemen, Libya and Ukraine. We hope the film inspires people to read more about the actual event and the proactive role the MEA plays in safeguarding the security of Indian citizens living abroad.”
Last time out when we had spoken to Menon, he had defended, saying, "You can't please everybody. I am not denying that Capt. Juvale is a hero, he may have done a lot in the evacuation. But I am sure there were many more heroes besides him. Surely, I can't show each and everyone in a 130-minute film. And with due respect to him- how can he say than an airlift as portrayed in my film never happened, or happened at a much later stage when things had calmed down? 488 Air India planes had flown in and out of Kuwait to bring several Indians to safety. It's all documented with Air India; I think they'll be grossly upset with him if he is choosing to sit on the other side of the fence."
This time when we contacted him, he sounded very ruffled and simply said, "Speak to the film's publicist," and hung up.
Thumbnail Image Source: twitter/AkshayKumar