Though Raja Krishna Menon helmed the Purab Kohli and Nandita Das-starrer 'Bas Yun Hi' (2003) and 2009 film 'Barah Aana' starring Naseeruddin Shah and Vijay Raaz, the writer-director often finds himself being asked if he is new to the industry. For the past several years, Menon, who has an advertising background, had been piecing together the story of 'Airlift', inspired from the real-life drama surrounding the evacuation of Indian expatriates from Kuwait in 1990 when the country was invaded by Iraq. It is regarded as the biggest human evacuation in history, and the director can’t wait for his film, which stars Akshay Kumar in the lead, to reach the audience. hitlist caught him for a brief chat. Excerpts:

Akshay Kumar with Raja Krishna Menon on the set of their film