Border 2, starring Sunny Deol, may be flying high at the Indian box office, but the war drama will not release across key Gulf markets including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. While no official reason has been issued, industry insiders point to the film’s India-Pakistan war backdrop and strong military narrative as the likely factor behind the decision, a pattern seen with several recent titles in the region.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region remains a crucial overseas market for Hindi cinema, often contributing 3-5% of a big film’s global business. Trade figures suggest a well-performing Hindi film can earn between Rs. 30 crore and Rs. 50 crore from the region.

Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi explains: “For a film like Border 2, expectations are massive, so the loss is felt. At the same time, exhibitors in the Gulf also lose out by not being able to screen big titles. For Indian films, 3-5% of business going away is still a large number.”

Border 2 isn’t the first high-profile Hindi film to face resistance in the Gulf. Last year, Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar did not release in the region despite a strong global run. Earlier, The Diplomat, starring John Abraham, and Fighter, led by Hrithik Roshan, faced similar roadblocks, though Fighter was later cleared for release in the UAE.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh believes the impact varies by film: “A Shah Rukh Khan film would mean something very different in the Gulf compared to others. In Dhurandhar’s case, which has already done well without a Gulf release, the loss could be Rs. 20-40 crore. For Border 2, it’s early to judge, but business in other territories could compensate.”

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film and TV Directors’ Association, has called for diplomatic clarity. “We are told India shares strong relations with the UAE. If a film talks about fighting terrorism, why should it be blocked?” he asks.

What's a manic Monday like in the life of a driven, deadly and dynamic superstar? As smooth as his SUV can be on the city's potholed roads en route to the studios for yet another day of 'action'. This one time, I take a ride with him for a freewheeling chat - the chaos of the metropolis adding flavour to our conversation. The crowds don't deter him, the traffic doesn't rattle him, and he stays calm, almost as calm as Superman on his daily mission to save the planet. He's been in the industry for 25 years, his experience shows. His age doesn't. Though his stubble has signs of pepper, it simply makes him sexier than Harrison Ford. Akshay talks about his unbending work rules, his 'killer' attitude and his patriotic fer vour that prompts him to do a film like Airlift, based on real-life heroes. So read on to find out what one hero feels about his stardom and other superheroes.

This is your fourth patriotic film in three years. Is it a conscious effort to do films that are socially relevant?
The difference here is, it is a true story of what happened to 1,70,000 Indians in Kuwait in 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded the country. I have interacted with those people and heard their horrifying stories. I even know the person whose role I am portraying. Some of them were billionaires who turned beggars overnight. I shudder to think what would happen if I was struck with a similar fate. What if I woke up one day and all that I owned was taken away from me. I loved the subject and I thought it had to be told. My father was in the army, so somewhere I feel motivated to do such films. I'd rather play a real hero than a superhero. A superhero can fly and beat up 1,000 people. A real hero can't, but he is still braver than the superhero. So, I'd rather play a real character.

You were moved to tears while shooting some scenes?
Yes, in the last 15 minutes I was moved to tears. It is not the Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham kind of tears, lekin dil bhar aata hai. I recently met some IPS officers and they were talking about films like Baby with such pride. It makes me believe I made the right choice. I know films like these don't easily go above Rs 90-100 crore, because not everyone wants to see patriotic films. But I believe that is also changing. The section of audience who wants to see such films is also on the rise, so that makes me hopeful.

Akshay, you completed 25 years in the industry. It's a long run, and I am sure the highs and lows were many.
It is such a coincidence - Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on August 2 1990, and I invaded Bollywood on the same day. It's not a great coincidence, but it's a fact. It struck me when I started working on Airlift. Talking about highs and lows...there is just so much to recount. I delivered 14 flops in a row, so it obviously was a low in my career. After that, I delivered 16 hits, so I hit a high again. But that's the nature of the business. Personally, losing my father was the lowest point in my life.

But not once, did you want to give up?
Never! I will only give up if someone comes and shoots me. I will leave this industry only if I get bored and feel I have nothing more to do. During the early stages of my career I got bored, because I was only doing action films for seven years. At one point, I believed I could not do anything other than kick, punch and dance. But then Priyadarshan shook me out of my comfort zone and gave me a chance to discover that I could do comedy. Then Rajkumar Santoshi, writer Neeraj Vora and the Darshan brothers (Suneel and Dharmesh) pushed me even further to do films like Dhadkan, Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love and Jaanwar. Well, it is difficult to constantly reinvent yourself in the action genre, so I had to take risks. But it was worth it.

So, does failure affect you as much as it did years ago?
If my film doesn't work, I feel sad about it for three days. But on the Monday following the release, I snap out of it and move on. It's like investing time in a relationship and then going through a break up. Some break ups take longer, and some are easier to get over. We invest so much time, effort and money in a film, so the disappointment over a failure is bound to happen. I had high expectations from Brothers. I worked extremely hard on the film, but it's sad that it didn't pay off.

Are you competitive? Do you still feel the heat?
There are about 180 Hindi films in a year, and tell me...how many actors do we have? Not as many. And within those, there are some actors who do only one film a year. So who am I competing with? I have a different way of looking at films. I do four films in a year, and that's my usual track record. I just focus on completing every film in 60 days - so that's 240 days of work for me. That is the way I look at it. I don't like competition and I don't think I am competing with anybody. But yes, I will go mad if I sit idle. I might even die if I don't work.

Yet, you are particular about the number of hours you clock in? And you stick by your rule, right?
Oh yes! I need to do eight hours of work, and after that I need to take off. My agreement states that I will only work for eight hours. But when I come on the set, I don't move out of there. I tell my producer - 'I am all yours'. I am not the kind of actor who says...saab aa rahey hain. With me it is...Saab yehi hain, woh baithe hain. Once eight hours are up, saab chale gaye hain, ab nahin milenge (laughs). This has been my work ethic for the last 17 years, and trust me, my producers love it. I completed Airlift in 38 days, Namastey London in 32 days, and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi in 32 days. Yash Chopraji has made films in not more than 55 days. Films really don't take that much time.

Your bucket list of the kind of movies you would love to do?
Two years ago, I had answered this and said that I wanted to do a negative role. And look what happened. I am doing Robot 2 with Rajinikanth sir. I couldn't be happier. Next on my bucket list is the role of a psychopath killer. In one of my earlier films, Sangharsh (directed by Tanuja Chandra), my role was on those lines. The film didn't work, but it changed a lot within me.

Who is your toughest critic?
It is definitely my sister. She watches every Hindi film, and not just my movies. The best part is, she thinks like an audience. If she doesn't like the film, she will simply tell me, 'Mazaa nahin aaya. Bekaar hai'. I feel scared when she watches my movies.

What about your wife, Twinkle? Does she critique your films in her own witty style?
Well, Twinkle comes for very few film trials, but when she does, she does not mince words. If she doesn't like the film, she will straight away tell me, 'It is utter shit'. My sister is honest but sometimes she tries to be gentle with her words. With Twinkle, there is no chance of diplomacy. If you have read the way she writes, you will know that with her it is either black or white. Sometimes, it is better that she doesn't come for trials; I get spared of her comments (laughs).

Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 1990 was in debt of the US because of the long-drawn Iran conflict that it had undertaken. Iraq wanted Kuwait to reduce oil production, to create a scarcity of oil leading to increasing oil prices, thereby helping Iraq raise more money. But Kuwait refused, leaving Iraq furious. On August 2nd 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait (part of the first Gulf War). The Iraqi army took over the city within a few hours. The Kuwaiti royal family managed to escape to Saudi Arabia, leaving the state rudderless. The city was looted and the general population subjugated and made to suffer great tragedies in the hands of the Iraqi army. Kuwait was home to almost 170,000 Indians, all of who had suddenly become moneyless and homeless.

Bhushan Kumar’s Airlift directed by Raja Menon, based on true events, is a heroic story of a man Ranjit Katyal (played by Akshay Kumar), a wealthy and powerful Indian businessman who had always seen himself as a Kuwaiti and not Indian, but who with the help of the Indian government, safely evacuated these 170,000 Indians back to their country.

This was the largest and most successful evacuation attempted by any country in the world. Airlift is an edge-of-the-seat-thriller and is the story of this heroic evacuation that also won a Guinness World Record for India.

Akshay Kumar's Airlift is an edge-of-the-seat entertaining thriller. The story, based on real incidents, is set in 1990 in Kuwait, the time of the famous Gulf War when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The film has Akshay playing Ranjit Katyal, a wealthy and powerful Indian businessman, who, though initially considers himself a Kuwaiti rather an Indian, finding himself and the lives of his family in danger, becomes eventually the man who helps evacuate 1,70,000 Indians from Kuwait and brings them back safely to India. To shoot the film, the director Raja Menon needed to recreate Kuwait and Baghdad of that time. We bring you an exclusive look of Akshay shooting in an old street of Ras-Al-Khaimah, which looks just like Kuwait in 1990.