From Cockpit to Courtroom: Runway 34 Flies High
Runway 34 (2022)
Directed by Ajay Devgn
Starring Ajay Devgn, Amitabh Bachchan, Rakul Preet Singh, Boman Irani
My first foray into Indian cinema was with Gangubai Kathiawadi. Runway 34 marks my second venture, and it couldn’t be more different. While the former was a sweeping biopic spanning decades, Runway 34 takes place mostly over a single day aboard an airplane, followed by a week in a courtroom. The runtime had me puzzled—I thought the film had wrapped up around the 90-minute mark. The tension had built up nicely to a well-executed climax, and just as the denouement was unfolding, an intermission card appeared. Suddenly, a whole new drama began, this time in a courtroom rather than in the skies. Is this intermission feature common in Indian films? I’m not sure. I don’t recall if Gangubai Kathiawadi had one, but I do remember it being longer than most Hollywood biopics.
Runway 34 starts by establishing that our main character, Captain Vikrant Khanna, isn’t just the coolest, most confident man in India—he’s practically flawless. It wasn’t until later that I realized the actor portraying this “perfect man” is also the film’s director, Ajay Devgn. Captain Khanna is almost a cartoonish depiction of masculinity, calling to mind Hollywood icons like John Wayne, Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, and more recently, Dwayne Johnson. This sets up an inevitable fall from grace as his hubris catches up with him.
We’re also introduced to Tanya Albuquerque early on, played by Rakul Preet Singh, and to Narayan Vedant, portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, after the intermission. Both actors bring a great balance to the film. Bachchan, in particular, stands out as a character who might have been an alpha male in his prime but now uses wisdom to outmaneuver his opponents.
Much like Gangubai Kathiawadi, Runway 34 presents a complete arc for its protagonist. Whether the story spans decades or just a month, the transformation of the main character is fully realized by the end, leaving no need for a sequel or franchise to flesh things out. I was satisfied with this one-off story. Maybe my next Indian film will be part of a franchise?
I haven’t seen Hollywood’s recent films about pilots, like Flight (2012), Captain Phillips (2013), or Sully (2016), so I can’t compare them. But I can compare Runway 34 to the only other Indian film I’ve seen in theaters. If Gangubai Kathiawadi, a film about femininity, is an A, then Runway 34, a film about masculinity, is a solid B.