Akshay Kumar's Mission Raniganj on your watchlist? Here's the real story behind the film

Pic/Akshay Kumar`s still Mission Raniganj which released in theatres today

Akshay Kumar is known to present tales of bravery and extraordinary heroism in his films. After delivering a bunch of socio-dramas, the actor has returned to theatres once again this year, but with a biopic this time. Titled Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue, it is inspired by a real-life incident that took place in November 1989.

Mission Raniganj is directed by Tinu Suresh Desai and written by Vipul K Rawal. It is about mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill who rescued 65 miners from a flooded mine in Raniganj, West Bengal. Born in 1940 in Amritsar, Gill completed his BSc (Honours) from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, before joining Coal India Limited in 1973. Throughout his career, the Mahabir Colliery, Raniganj, West Bengal, is said to be the most significant event.

Gill got the moniker of Capsule Gill after the rescue operation. There's a backstory to the monicker too. In November 1989, around 232 miners were sent inside the mine to excavate coal through explosions. However, hours into the shift, there was an influx of water which led to flooding in the mine. 161 miners were rescued promptly, and around 65 of them were trapped inside. Multiple teams were assigned to rescue the miners and Gill was in one of them. As the oxygen level was depleting inside the mine, he devised an idea to evacuate them safely.

Jaswant Singh Gill devised a steel capsule and created a borewell-type structure to send it down and rescue miners, one at a time. As the rescue operation started, the clock was ticking due to oxygen. One round of the capsule took around 15 minutes. The operation required six hours to conclude. Gill went inside the flooded mine to ensure the miners reached the surface safely. He was the last person to come out and by then, there was reportedly no oxygen in the mine.

Coal India Ltd announced November 16 as ‘Rescue Day' to celebrate Jaswant Singh Gill's act of bravery. In 1991, the mining engineer was rewarded with the ‘Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak' by President Ramaswamy Venkataraman.

Mission Raniganj also stars Parineeti Chopra, Kumud Mishra, Pawan Malhotra, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and others. It released in theatres on October 6, 2023.