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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved...

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved up and revived in the past few years, AI official sources said.   It marked a symbolic milestone for Air India itself - founded in 1932 by the legendary Bharat Ratna J. R. R. Tata - which once ruled the roost and was India’s pride in the global skies.   Once renowned for its royal service with the iconic Maharaja welcoming fliers on board, in 1953 it was taken over by the government of India. After years of piling losses, ageing aircraft, decline in operations and standards – almost like a Maharaja turning a pauper - it returned to the Tata Group four years ago.   This time it was not just the aircraft, the brand and the deflated Maharaja coming into the large-hearted Tata Group stables, but a formidable challenge to ensure that the airline could regain its old glory and glitter. Of the total around 190 aircraft in its fleet were 30 – or 15 pc – that had been grounded and neglected for years.   At that time, the late Ratan N. Tata had directed that all these valuable aircraft must be revived as far as possible and join the fleet. Accordingly, the VT-ALL, languishing at Nagpur for nearly five years, was ‘hospitalized’ at the Air India Engineering Service Ltd., its MRO facility in May 2025.   New Avatar Then started a thorough, painstaking nose-to-tail restoration of an unprecedented scale, in which over 3000 critical components were replaced, over 4,000 maintenance tasks executed, besides key structural upgrades like the longeron modification, engines, auxiliary power units, avionics, hydraulics, landing gears and almost every vital system was rebuilt or replaced.   After the repairs, the old aircraft was reborn, under the gaze of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and technical assistance from Boeing, and the new ‘avatar’ jetliner emerged with the highest global safety standards.   The aircraft cleared all the rigorous checks, a successful test flight, earned the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate and then made its maiden commercial flight from Monday, March 16 – after a wait of six years.   Sturdy Fliers Created in 1946 to become an instant global icon, the Air India’s mascot Maharaja now sports a youthful and chic look, a welcome with folded hands, closed eyes, featuring a bejewelled turban, stylish jootis, and a textured kurta in Air India’s new colours. He is prominently visible at various touch-points in a flyer’s journey, such as First Class, exclusive lounges, and luxury products.   Today, he commands a mix fleet of around 190 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft like : A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350-900 and B787-8, B787-9, B7770200LR, B-777-300ER. With the merger of Vistara and agreements signed for 10 A350 and 90 A320 aircraft, the Maharaja’s fleet is slated to soar to some 570 in the near future.

Aamir-Hirani set for first-ever biopic on Dadasaheb Phalke

Mumbai: Almost 81 years after his passing, the first-ever biopic of the Father of Indian Cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke – revered as ‘Dadasaheb Phalke’ – will soon start rolling and is scheduled for a 2026 release.


The film shall be directed by Rajkumar Hirani with mega-star Aamir Khan slated to play the role of the humble and multi-faceted personality, who created history in India as the producer-director of the first feature film, “Raja Harishchandra”, 115 years ago.


His grandson, Chandrashekhar Pusalkar-Phalke said that the film has been written by Hindukush Bharadwaj and his son Aviskhar Bharadwaj after painstaking efforts spanning four years, deep-diving into Dadasaheb Phalke’s life and his mind.


“The Bharadwajs have put their heart-and-soul into the venture. We had multiple sittings and I disclosed to them many yet-unknown facets of Dadasaheb, as told to me by his daughter (my mother), Vrinda Pusalkar-Phalke, over the years. I was told that when Hirani heard about it, he readily agreed for the venture,” Pusalkar-Phalke told ‘The Perfect Voice’.


Hindukush Bharadwaj said that along with his son, the duo virtually moved mountains to understand the legendary film-maker, went to public-private libraries to hunt for materials on his life, pored over media-reports of that era, books in various languages, speaking to octogenarians linked with Bollywood, etc.


“We worked on the old cameras of that era to comprehend how Dadasaheb must have functioned, doing everything for the first time with limited resources, we tried out the trick photography as he did manually, retracing every possible aspect of his film-making life. Then, we discussed everything threadbare with Pusalkar-Phalke and other descendants to authenticate each point,” an excited Bharadwaj told The Perfect Voice.


The senior Bharadwaj said that when Aamir Khan heard the story, he had tears in his eyes and he declared that there was no way he could miss working on this historical biopic.


Set against the backdrop of India’s Independence Movement when the life of the young Dhundiraj starts from scratch, growing as an ordinary artist, fighting all odds and then went to found and bequeath the world’s largest indigenous film industry to the country.


Bharadwaj and Pusalkar-Phalke said that the pre-production works are on, with a Hollywood studio creating AI-based designs for the period-feel of the film, and the actual shooting will commence in October 2025 with a planned 2026 in theatres.


“This is no longer a commercial venture. Hirani, along with Abhijat Joshi and ourselves treat it as a ‘tribute’ to the great soul Dadasaheb Phalke who left an indelible mark on Indian history,” said Bharadwaj.


“Given the efforts, the involvement of stalwarts in every department, we are optimistic that the proposed film will make it to the Oscars,” smiled Pusalkar-Phalke, who unveiled the official website (www.dpiam.org.in) as ‘Dadasaheb Phalke International Awareness Mission’ in Feb. 2025.


The legend called Dadasaheb Phalke

Born in Trimbakeshwar (Nashik), Dadasaheb Phalke (April 30, 1870-Feb. 16, 1944) – with original surname of ‘Bhat’ – was educated in Mumbai’s Sir J. J. School of Arts and Kala Bhavan in Baroda (now, in Gujarat).


Barely in his early-forties, he created history with India’s first full-length film, “Raja Harishchandra” (released May 3, 1913), made after great personal sacrifices.


Interestingly his ancestors, the Bhats, supplied cut banana leaves to the Peshwas, and the vocation was traditionally known as ‘Phalke’, hence that occupational surname stuck, and later became historical.


As the country, then under British rule, remained in awe of the maiden silent film, Dadasaheb Phalke made two more films, “Mohini Bhasmasur” (1913) and “Satyavan Savitri” (1914).


He shot into limelight with the first-ever blockbuster hit film of India, “Lanka Dahan” (1917), in which he also introduced the fascinating concept of a ‘double-role character’.


Chandrashekhar and his wife Mrudula remember how their grandpa unfailingly credited his doting wife, Saraswati Phalke for his success in film-making - that has now mushroomed into a gigantic entertainment industry that ranks among the biggest money-spinners for the national economy.


“He made a total of 75 films, of which only one was a talkie, ‘Gangavataran’ in 1937. Many of his films became very popular, plus he was a visionary, a trendsetter in several aspects of film-making which inspired future generations,” said the Pusalkar couple.


Pusalkar-Phalke describes his Grandpa as “accidental film-maker” who had equally mastered other arts drawing, painting, photography, theatre, model-making, printing and learnt magic from the American wizard Carl Hertz (1859-1924) – but his passion for films made him immortal.


“We have been appealing to confer ‘Bharat Ratna’ on Dadasaheb Phalke, but there is no response from successive governments. We shall keep trying…” said the Pusalkar couple.

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