It's not everyday that the government offers its feedback on a film, but a Bollywood film on the largest air evacuation in history has elicited such a response. India's external affairs ministry has criticised Airlift for taking artistic liberties with actual events. Released last week, Airlift has been inspired by the mass evacuation of 176 thousand stranded Indians during the Iraq-Kuwait war in 1990-91.

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Since its release last Friday, the film has received critical and commercial success, collecting over Rs 800 million at the box office. The external affairs ministry however described the film as "good entertainment" but "short on facts".

"Now, films often take liberties with actual events, with facts and this particular film has also taken a lot of artistic liberties in the depictions of the events as they actually happened in Kuwait in 1990," said the ministry spokerperson Vikas Swarup, whose best-selling book Q&A was adapted to the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

.@AirliftFilm: Great entertainment but rather short on facts :) Here's our take https://t.co/Ik6S9ZLHR6 — Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) January 28, 2016

Airlift shows the Indian embassy in Kuwait being evacuated soon after the the entry of Iraqi troops, deserting thousands of Indians. It is left to local businessmen such as Ranjit Katyal (played by actor Akshay Kumar) to organise refugee camps and negotiate with the Iraqis to return to India. Contrary to this negative portrayal, diplomats have argued that the Indian mission in Kuwait was not closed down.

"Airlift" the movie falls completely short in its research on role of @MEAIndia in 1990-91 Gulf War. — Nirupama Rao (@NMenonRao) January 25, 2016

Revealng that the ministry had received numerous questions on its role during the evacuation. Swarup added that those who remembered the 1990 evacuation "would also know the very proactive role played that the ministry of external affairs played", including sending official delegations to Baghdad and Kuwait, as well as coordinating evacuation efforts.

Referring to recent evacuations in Libya, Iraq, Ukraine and Yemen, Swarup hoped that it would encourage viewers to read about "the very proactive role that the ministry of external affairs always played in safeguarding the interest, and concerns and the security of Indian citizens who live and work abroad".