Runway 34

About the film

Runway 34 is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language thriller film produced and directed by Ajay Devgn under the Devgn Films banner. The film is inspired by an aviation incident involving a Jet Airways flight 9W-555 from Doha to Kochi on August 17, 2015. Critics have noted similarities, in the general story as well some scenes with Hollywood movies such as Flight (2012) and Sully (2016). The film stars Ajay Devgn, Amitabh Bachchan, and Rakul Preet Singh, with Boman Irani, Angira Dhar and Aakanksha Singh playing pivotal roles.

Runway 34 was released theatrically on 29 April 2022. It received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office. It was released for digital streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 24 June 2022.

Plot

Captain Vikrant Khanna is an accomplished pilot who is preparing for a flight from Dubai to Cochin. He drinks alcohol and parties the night before the flight and feels tired upon boarding, where his co-pilot is Tanya Albuquerque. Later, a cyclone in Cochin leads to the flight (Skyline 777) being diverted to Trivandrum on Khanna's suggestion, despite Albuquerque insisting that Bengaluru was the safer alternative. She argues that Bengaluru must be the second option—not Trivandrum—as the latter is close to Cochin and likely facing the same severe weather. Khanna maintains that diverting to Trivandrum would allow an earlier landing and save fuel.

Due to a miscommunication by Cochin ATC, the pilots are unaware that Trivandrum's weather and visibility are even worse. Khanna attempts to land on Runway 16 at Trivandrum, facing strong headwinds, but aborts and performs a go-around. He then decides to land on Runway 34, opposite to 16, despite the even deadlier tailwind. Trivandrum ATC prepares for the worst, with hospital beds ready and a rescue team stationed on the runway. Against all odds, Khanna manages to land the flight with his eyes closed, averting a major disaster.

Before the official enquiry, a preliminary interrogation is held, including Khanna's medical test. However, the breathalyzer instrument is damaged, preventing confirmation of whether he was intoxicated. The enquiry, led by AAIB Head Narayan Vedant, focuses on the pilots’ decisions that night. Prior to this, Vedant questions the officials at Cochin ATC about the miscommunication. When he demands the audio tapes of the incident, they inform him that the recordings are overwritten every 12 hours. Furious that such a crucial record was lost, Vedant reprimands them, saying, “Incompetence breeds incompetence,” and orders them not to interfere further in the investigation.

Production

The film was originally titled Mayday. In November 2021, the name of the upcoming film was changed to Runway 34. The number "34" in the film's title was chosen because that was Ajay's age when his daughter Nysa was born. The film is based on true events, in which a plane from Doha to Kochi landed with only a very small amount of fuel left.

The official announcement of the film was made on 7 November 2020 and principal photography began on 11 December 2020 in Hyderabad. It is filmed at Hyderabad and Mumbai. The filming halted for sometime due to lockdown, COVID restrictions in 2021. In August 2021, Devgn travelled to Russia to do recce and finalise locations to film the scenes, reportedly later in September

Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet and Boman Irani travelled to Russia to film some airport scenes. The film was wrapped on 17 December 2021.

Release

The film was released theatrically on 29 April 2022, coinciding with the festival of Eid. It was released on Amazon Prime Video on 24 June 2022.

Reception

Runway 34 earned ₹16 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹9 crore. On the third day, the film collected ₹9.50 crore, taking total domestic weekend collection to ₹35.75 crore.

As of 19 May 2022, the film has grossed ₹45.24 crore in India and ₹34.83 crore overseas for a worldwide gross collection of ₹75 crore.

Runway 34 received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10.

Music

The film's music composed by Jasleen Royal while lyrics written by Aditya Sharma.

Key details