Navigating Turbulence: A Review of Runway 34

 Navigating Turbulence: A Review of Runway 34

Introducing myself, I am Chitrakshi, a young cinephile with selective tastes, very selected movies grab my interest which are mainly related to the themes of magic, mystery and aviation related movies and documentaries. 

Well, today I am going to be reviewing one of the most favorite Bollywood movies till date. The name of the movie is Runway 34. It is an aviation related movie. Starting up, it was released in April 2022, I know it's a two year old one, but yet it is my top favourite movie.

Runway 34 is the story of Captain Vikrant Khanna (Ajay Devgn), a flying prodigy who landed a flight with his eyes closed. He is shown as a pilot who has photographic memory. Upon dealing with the rough climate in Cochin, two pilots make a risky landing in Thiruvananthapuram.

Captain Vikrant takes off, with co-pilot, Tanya Albuquerque, in mid air, in Cochin, there were very poor climatic conditions, with extremely poor visibility. He was receiving orders from the Air Traffic Control to land on a different runway which was longer than Runway 34. However, he landed on Runway 34 with his eyes closed, why, figure it out yourselves!

Till there it was no problem, the main issue ensues when the personnel from AAIB, Narayan Vedant, played by Amitabh Bachchan, probes the matter. He asked so many questions from Captain Vikrant, but he never panicked and always spoke the truth. He knew it was not his fault, so he had a valid explanation of every question asked. 

The best part about the movie I liked was that how calm minded he was. It teaches us that no matter the person in front of you is shouting or screaming, we should never lose our temper and be peaceful. Captain Vikrant was a person who always supported the truth, no matter of how many allegations leveled against him.

Secondly, it taught me that no job is easy.  A pilot is a prestigious role that comes with immense responsibility. The pilot has a responsibility of so many passengers. The movie also highlights on the topic of a pilot's life.

One thing I felt could have been avoided in the movie was showing Captain Vikrant smoking. The movie is aimed at teenagers and is quite inspiring, teaching the importance of staying calm and not panicking. However, since this is the age when children can be influenced by habits like smoking or unhealthy behaviors, I think it would have been better if such a sincere and dedicated pilot wasn’t shown smoking.

I would rate this a 9/10, if you are interested, you can watch it on Prime Video. Till then check out my other blogs and stay tuned.

For suggestions or feedback, feel free to reach me at: chitrakshic0708@gmail.com