Meet Sunny Matthew: The real life hero who inspired Airlift's Ranjit Katyal

If you’ve managed to catch Akshay Kumar-starrer Airlift this Republic Day weekend, you probably remember some memorable scenes from the film: The Indian flag being waved at the climax of the film, Akshay Kumar’s heroism, the quirky characters that made up the Indian ensemble in the film. [caption id=“attachment_2600614” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Akshay Kumar and Matthew.[/caption] However, with a film like Airlift, not many of us actually remember the names of the real life heroes upon whom this film is based (no Ranjit Katyal doesn’t count; the character is fictional). Akshay Kumar’s character is based on a combination of many men who bravely helped in the evacuation of Indians from Kuwait. On the day the film released, Rhea Matthew, the grand daughter of one of these heroes, Sunny Matthew, posted a Facebook status about her grand father and the struggles he had to go through during the pressing time. She mentions how her grandfather put his life as risk and helped 1,70,000 Indians return back to their homeland, and how he is a great man who believed in humility and gratitude. She also mentions that her grandfather may not live for very long but through Airlift, he will live in everyone’s hearts forever. Here is Rhea Matthews’ Facebook status:

Today ‘Airlift’ releases, a movie based on the largest civil evacuation (Indians based in Kuwait) during the Iraqi… Posted by Rhea Mathews on  Thursday, January 21, 2016