Runway 34 - 2022

Introduction

Runway 34 is a Hindi thriller movie directed and produced by Ajay Devgn under the Ajay Devgn FFilms Banner. Released on 29 April 2022 across theatres, Runway 34 garnered reviews ranging from mixed to positive, but its box office performance was unsatisfactory. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video for digital streaming on 24 June 2022.

Runway 34 revolves around an aviation incident involving a Jet Airways flight to Kochi from Doha in 2015. It narrates the tale of how a gifted pilot navigates extraordinary circumstances when his flight takes a strange course post-take-off.

Table Of Contents

• Details

• Story

• Release Date

• Reviews

• Cast

• Crew

• Character Analysis

• Songs

• Behind The Scenes

• Controversy

• Box Office Collection

• Interesting Facts

• Conclusion

Details

Story

PlayCaptain Vikrant Khanna (Ajay Devgn), a skilled and highly successful pilot, is gearing up for a flight to Kochi from Dubai with Tanya Albuquerque (Rakul Preet Singh) as his co-pilot. Khanna is tired post-boarding as he was partying the night before. The first challenge in his course emerges when a cyclone in Kochi compels him to divert the flight to Trivandrum, despite Albuquerque's objection.

As per Albuquerque, Trivandrum's proximity to Kochi indicates that it might be affected by poor weather, too; hence, Bangalore is a better option for landing. However, as per Khanna, landing in Trivandrum can help them save fuel. Unfortunately, when they approach Trivandrum, they find themselves in weather conditions worse than in Kochi. Extremely poor visibility threatens the flight's safety. However, despite keeping his eyes closed, Khanna uses his expertise and intelligence to land safely with 150 passengers.

He then has to undergo a brief interrogation and a medical test. However, the test fails to indicate if he is inebriated. An enquiry follows to address Khanna's in-flight actions, led by Narayan Vedant (Amitabh Bachchan), AAIB Head. The key reason behind the enquiry is the demise of an elderly passenger, Alma Asthana, due to a heart attack, even though she was the only passenger to trust Khanna's decision to divert the flight to Trivandrum. Khanna is also asked to undergo a polygraph test. In the meantime, Albuquerque, scared by Vedant's questions, reveals that Khanna landed the flight with his eyes closed. This leads to misgivings about Khanna's decision-making ability and skill.

However, Khanna talks about his photographic memory in the next enquiry session to put all doubts to rest. Even though his eyes were closed during the landing, he knew exactly what he was doing since he was visualising it all in his mind. Eventually, with the help of a simulated flight, where Vedant is his co-pilot, Khanna proves that he is telling the truth. Wearing an eye cap, he repeats the movements he made when landing. Captain Khanna is ultimately suspended for three months but lauded for his expertise and brilliant thinking in the face of adversity. 

Release

The movie was released on 29 April 2022 in theatres and distributed by Panorama Studios and Yash Raj Films. On 24 June 2022, Runway 34 was released on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video. The movie's official trailer garnered 49 million views on YouTube. 

Reviews

IMDb Rating: 7/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 50% 

Ajay Devgn's Runway 34 is a powerful, airborne cocktail of thrill, uncertainty, and intense moments. The screenplay by Sandeep Kewlani and Aamil Keeyan Khan builds palpable anxiety, giving viewers a taste of what can go really wrong on a flight. Paired with commendable cinematography and visual effects, this aviation thriller is a nail-biting ride with brilliant performances by an impressive cast, though some melodramatic bits could have been avoided.

The second half, however, lacks the desired pace and tautness. Heavy on dialogues, it fails to deliver much in terms of suspense. However, Mr. Bachchan and Mr. Devgn's acting chops make it work. Runway 34 is also heavily inspired by Hollywood gems like Sully, Flight, and Snakes on a Plane. Overall, it keeps viewers hooked most of the time.      

Casting 

Crew 

Producer – Ajay Devgn

Co-Producers – Husaini Hasnain, Jay Kanojia, Sandeep Kewlani, Kumar Mangat Pathak, Vikrant Sharma, Tarlok Singh

Line Producers – Sanjay Inamdar, Vishal Khanna

Music – Amar Mohile, Jasleen Royal

Cinematography – Aseem Bajaj

Film Editing – Dharmendra Sharma

Casting – Vaibhav Vishant

Production Design – Sabu Cyril, Sujeet Sawant, Sriram Iyengar

Art Direction – Jyoti Raju Hundekar, Ajay Venkatesh Raju, Roman Mikheev

Costume Design – Daena Sethna, Radhika Mehra, Navin Shetty

Character Analysis

• Ajay Devgn as Captain Vikrant Khanna: Khanna is a confident, skilled pilot and a flawed hero. He has his weaknesses (partying and drinking) as well as strengths (ability to make split-second decisions and do his job even with his eyes closed). He is proud, brash, and sometimes overconfident. Khanna's act of saving 150 lives against nature's wrath helps balance the negative tones in his character.

• Amitabh Bachchan as Narayan Vedant: Vedant, as the head of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, comes across as intimidating, righteous and sceptical about Captain Khanna's sense of responsibility. He uses sharp logic in the most challenging situations and doesn't get overwhelmed by heroics. Portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, Vedant balances Captain Khanna's ego and overconfidence with practicality, sensibility and justified anger. 

• Rakul Preet Singh as Tanya Albuquerque: Albuquerque is a prim, professional co-pilot with ample style and youthfulness. She admires Captain Khanna for his experience and expertise and hopes to learn from him. Albuquerque is capable of making helpful suggestions in a critical situation, but her loyalty comes first, which is why she goes along with Devgn's decision to land in Trivandrum. Albuquerque is also honest as she reveals to Vedant that Khanna's eyes were closed during the landing. 

Songs

Behind the Scenes

• On 20 April 2022, a behind-the-scenes video was released on YouTube, where Amitabh Bachchan talks about his character Narayan Vedant and glimpses of the courtroom shooting are shared. Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh share their experience of working with the legendary actor too.

• On 22 April 2022, another YouTube video was shared, where Ajay Devgn is seen directing, instructing the crew, and shooting scenes inside the airport and flight. Rakul Preet Singh and Ajay Devgn also shared their take on Captain Khanna's character. 

Controversy

The Federation of Pilots has rejected the claim that Runway 34 is inspired by real events, stating that the profession of airline pilots has received unrealistic treatment, likely to induce apprehension in fliers. Based on the negative areas in Ajay Devgn's character, the federation has also stated that, in reality, substance abuse and deviant behaviour are not condoned at all.

Box Office Collection

On the opening day, Runway 34 raked in ₹3 crores at the domestic box office. The collection spiked to ₹4.5 crores on the second day and ₹5.5 crores on the third day, making the total collection for the opening weekend ₹13 crores.

End of week 1: ₹22.25 crore

End of week 2: ₹29.25 crore

End of week 3: 32.22 crore

End of week 4: 32.96 crore

As of 19 May 2022, Runway 34 earned ₹39.24 crores (gross) in India and ₹14.53 crores overseas.

Its worldwide gross collection was ₹53.77 crore, which fell short of break-even by ₹20 crores.

The movie was a commercial failure. 

Interesting Facts

• Ajay Devgn changed the movie's name from Mayday to Runway 34, as he thought people might not understand it or confuse it with Labour Day. The number 34 was used since when Nysa, his first child, was born, he was 34.

• Runway 34 is Ajay's third movie, where he is both the main character and director. 

• Runway 34 brought Devgn and Bachchan together after 9 years.

• It is Rakul Preet Singh's second movie with Ajay Devgn. 

• Runway 34's airport sequences were shot in Russia.

• Carry Minati, the famous YouTuber made his first Bollywood appearance with Runway 34.

• The movie is inspired by Flight, a 2012 Denzel Washington movie.

Conclusion

Runway 34 tells the tale of a bold and skilled pilot, Captain Vikrant Khanna, who encounters an unusual and dangerous situation when his flight has to go off-course. This aviation thriller movie has impressive visual effects, edge-of-the-seat moments, and intense word battles.

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