Kareena Kapoor Starrer Crew Inspired By Kingfisher Airlines Debacle? Director Answers

Crew, starring Kareena Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Tabu, is all set to make its theatrical debut on March 29. After his 2020 directorial debut Lootcase, director Rajesh A Krishnan is coming up with, which follows three air hostesses working for a fictional airline called Kohinoor. With the carrier on the verge of bankruptcy, their future seems uncertain, but they find a dead passenger smuggling gold biscuits. Since the film's trailer was released, speculations were made about Crew being inspired by the debacle of, Vijay Mallya-owned airline, Kingfisher. Now, the filmmaker has given some clarity on the topic. 

Rajesh A Krishnan on Crew inspiration

While the story, penned by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri, comes from a real environment, the incidents have been manipulated to give the audience thrill and joy. The plotline and the red colour costume of the Kohinoor airline staff mirror that of the real-life Kingfisher Airlines, which ran into continuous losses, and high debts and finally shut down within seven years of commencing operation. Its chairman Vijay Mallya subsequently fled to London to allegedly hide from creditors.

Krishnan clarified that the story of Crew is a collective look at several commercial carriers in India. "It's not something we designed. There aren't like 15 airlines in the country that went bust. There are only about three airlines. Honestly, it's a smattering of all these airlines,” said the filmmaker to PTI. 

He added, "What's the point of targeting Kingfisher anyway? If you do, you need to establish in the story the people being accused are the accused. The jury is still out."

What do we know about Crew?

Crew, made under Balaji Telefilms and Anil Kapoor Film & Communications Network banners, is slated for a theatrical release on March 29. It was slated to release on March 22, but the makers later decided to push the film's release.