The Bollywood cinema, in recent times, launched a bundle of superhit films, from The Kashmir Files to RRR to KGF: Chapter 2. A very recent to-be-released movie, “Runway 34” could also join the superhit, given its cast and storyline. Before the movie hits the theatres, let’s look at the interesting facts about the film:
Introduction
- An Indian thriller film produced and directed by the actor Ajay Devgn casts himself along with Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Amir Hossain Ashik, Rakul Preet Singh, Aakanksha Singh, Ajey Nagar and Angira Dhar. The co-producers include Vikrant Sharma, Kumar Mangat Pathak, Tarlok Singh Jethi, Sandeep Harish Kewlani, Jay Kanujia and Hasnain Husaini.
- The movie releases on the occasion of Eid on the 24th of April, 2022.
- The film’s storyline is based on the true incident of a Jet Airways flight. In Runway 34, ‘one of the worst of the safety incidents ever occurred at any of the Indian airports’ comes back to light.
True Story
- The incident took place on August 18, 2015, when Jet Airways flight 9W 555, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, arrived from the Capital of Qatar, Doha, over Kochi at around 5.45 AM. Due to the lack of visibility for the aircraft to land, the incident took place. Visibility issues occurred because of the haze that followed heavy rain during the previous night. After holding over Kochi for around 30 minutes, the pilot decided to divert to a nearby city, Trivandrum. When it reached Trivandrum, visibility over there also was less than what was required for a visual and safe landing.
- The incident occurred above 35,000 feet from the ground. The aircraft carried around 150 passengers on board.
- Ideally, the aircraft should have been diverted to Bangalore, which in this case was the nearest airport, around 15 minutes away. But they decided to re-route it to Trivandrum, which takes around an hour from Kochi.
- The pilots of the flight declared “May Day” and managed to land ‘blindly’ only in the seventh attempt after doing an unprecedented six go-arounds. This was a flight path taken by an aircraft after an aborted approach to land — in two airports. If they planned for another go-around, the flight crash seems certain because of the lack of fuel. May Day, an emergency procedure word that conveys urgency, is used in navigation and aviation as a distress signal.
- Anyhow, the pilots managed to land the plane. It took place without any problems. But the whole incident turned out as one of the most serious safety episodes that took place in an Indian airport.
Co-stars
- One of the most interesting aspects of the film reflects the face-off between Ajay Devgn and Big B. Ajay serves as one of the protagonists in the role of a flying prodigy “Captain Vikrant Khanna”. Bachchan serves as the lawyer “Narayan Vedant” who puts Ajay on the stand in the court. Ajay faces an accusation of putting the lives of many passengers in danger. Amitabh, in his character, grills Ajay’s role in the court. Rakul Preet plays the role of “Tanya Albuquerque”, Ajay’s co-pilot. She also plays one of the main characters in the film. She witnessed the entire incident first-handedly and therefore, puts herself on trial for her actions.
- According to a conversation in a Youtube video, Amitabh applauds Ajay’s hard work and efforts in Runway 34. He says that every film requires hard work and dedication but Ajay personally took interest in this film.
- Bachchan previously worked with Devgn on a few films such as Hindustan Ki Kasam, Major Saab, and Satyagraha.
Title
- The film originally was named “Mayday”. But the makers later changed it to Runway 34. Also, the makers realized that a few people in the audience knows the meaning of the word May Day. One fine day, an educated senior man walks up to the makers to ask if the movie tells the public about Labour Day or something. Runway 34 perfectly delivers the main aspect on which the film is based. The whole story revolves around a runway. Just like every airport carries a different name for its runway, the film eventually focuses on 34.
- Ajey Nager, also known as “Carry Minati” is a Youtuber by profession. He makes his Bollywood debut with this movie. He also streams online games in his videos and earned popularity for his comic reactions and language.
- The filming took place in Hyderabad. It began on 11 December 2020 and was completed on 17 December 2021.
Music
- The movie features two songs namely “Mitra Re” and “The Fall Song”. Jasleen Royal composed the music and Arijit Singh wrote the lyrics.
- Ajay Devgn breaks the internet with a peppy rap number by collaborating with social media influencer Yash Raj Mukhate. Yash Raj Mukhate became a sensation on the internet after rapping a conversation “Rasode Me Kaun Tha” from “Saath Nibhaana Saathiya”. Devgn also collaborated with him for promoting Runway 34. The audience can also watch it on Jalaya Toh Nahi Na | Yashraj Mukhate | Ajay Devgn | @Ajay Devgn Ffilms
- The production budget of the film lies between around Rs 60-80 crores.
Coinciding
- After realizing the date of release coinciding with Eid, he immediately called Salman Khan, known for releasing on Eid. Salman sweetly ensured that he won’t launch any film this Eid.
- Runway 34 coincides with many film releases, either on OTT or in theatres. Heropanti 2, Jana Gana Mana, Never Kiss Your Best Friend season 2, Acharya, Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal, and 365 Days: This Day releases from 27th to 29th April 2022.
The Idea
- Ajay, in an interview, shared the whole idea behind making Runway 34. During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandeep Kewlani and Aamil Keeyan Khan approached Ajay with the script of Runway 34. After making the required changes, they re-approached the actor. He loved the thriller part of the film along with a storyline based on true events.
- In the poster featuring Amitabh Bachchan, “Facing The Turbulence” text highlights itself. In Ajay Devgn’s poster, the makers wrote “Flying With His Eyes Shut”. Rakul Preet’s poster reads “Brace For Impact!”
Love from other actors
- Abhishek Bachchan took to Instagram to show his love for the film and actors. Meanwhile, Kajol shared a post celebrating 30 years of his husband’s career in Bollywood. She captioned it, “Completing 30 years, 3 decades and god knows how many countless hours before that in cinema @ajaydevgn. With the same quiet steady dedication and just letting his work speak for him and what he thinks about the film industry. Respect always. Keep on rocking! #hetheman #soproudofyou #workisworship”.
Fees
- According to a few reports, Amitabh Bachchan charged Rs 15 crore, Ajay Devgn charged Rs 25 crore, Rakul Preet charged Rs 3.5 crore, Angira Dhar charged Rs 1.2 crore. Ajey Nagar charged around Rs 60 lakhs for his first film.
Ajay’s films
- Ajay became the talk of the town after launching around 5-6 projects in a span of 9-10 months. Beginning with Bhuj: The Pride of India in August 2021 to Sooryavanshi in November 2021 to Gangubai Kathiawadi in February 2022 to Rudra: The Edge of Darkness and RRR in March 2022 to Runway 34 in April 2022, the actor literally grabbed the Indian cinema. With these many projects already launched, he plans to Thank God and Maidaan very soon. Ajay, definitely, is going to rule the hearts.
Reviews by Celebrities
- Based on the special screening organised for the celebrities, various stars, such as Kapil Sharma, Riteish Deshmukh, etc. took to social media to share their views. Kapil wrote on Twitter, “Beautiful, brilliant, full of thrill, wonderful performance by all the actors, what a beautiful film #Runway34 is (clapping emojis) kudos to@ajaydevgn paji for the wonderful direction”. Jackky Bhagnani, Rakul’s boyfriend, shared “#Runway34 is technically one of the most superior films I have seen off late. It emotionally completely engages you. All direction by @ajaydevgn sir. Outstanding performances by all. @amitabhbachchan sir just lights up the screen, @rakulpreet you just made me sooo proud — All the best team and I am so sure the audiences will love the film”. Genelia and Ritesh Deshmukh also lauded the performance of the actors. Genelia wrote, “Dear @rakulpreet. Just want to tell you, you were so so good in #runway34 and I wish you all the best in everything you do. All my love to you and your parents.”
Ajay’s anxiety
- Talking about his third directorial film, Runway 34, Ajay shared the level of anxiety and nervousness he faces. He feels anxious more than nervous about the release of the film and its reviews. He runs from pillars to posts for the post-production of Runway 34.
- Ajay didn’t knew about the whole incident before he got the script. He also praised the real-life person for his duty but somewhere, the real captain loves to work on his own terms. He sometimes believes in breaking rules or bending them a little.
- Ajay Devgn worked on a directorial after six years. His last film was Shivaay as a director. Amazed by this true story, he decided to work on this one.
- The promotions have started for the film with a bang in locations like Mumbai, Delhi, etc.
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