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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.

Financial challenges can’t deter us: Desale

Rahul Deshpande says one cannot declare that people would not like a film before showcasing it


Rahul Deshpande

Mumbai: The Marathi film ‘Amaltaash’ was supposed to be released in March 2020. “It was the time when Covid pandemic had hit the world. The film was bought by Viacom 18. Our contract was signed. However, later they changed their mind. Satellite channels said they were not sure if the audience will be able to take such a deep and engagingly mature thought,” said Rahul Deshpande.


Written and directed by SuhasDesale, the film stars Rahul Deshpande, Pallavi Paranjape, Pratibha Padhye, Deepti Mate, Trisha Kunte in lead roles. Presented by Mugdha Srikant Desai, produced by Darshan Productions, Medium Strong Productions and One Fine Day, the film is scripted by Suhas Desale and Mayuresh Wagh.


Desale said, “We are still in the process of recovering the cost that was involved in making the film. We are looking for avenues. However, we immensely enjoyed the process of making the film and will not be deterred by the financial challenges coming our way.”


Emerging off beat film makers in the Marathi industry are habitual of struggle that has always been a part of a Marathi artist’s life who wishes to break the stereotype to make content that will make a difference to the audience, more so to the society. While all factors come together to suppress the growth of brilliant experiments, the quality and hard work finds its way to reach out to the masses.


A classic example of this being, the father of Indian cinema- Dadasaheb Phalke who was labelled as “mentally ill” by the society back then, when he gave up all his savings for experimenting with moving images, an initiative that introduced a new concept of cinema to India.


Deshpande said, “One thing is clear from the YouTube response. Audience longs for quality content. You cannot declare that people would not like a film before showcasing it.”


Rahul Deshpande, the grandson of late Vasantrao Deshpande is an established Marathi singer and is a popular face in every Marathi household. ‘Amaltaash’ was not his debut in acting. His work as the protagonist in the popular biographical film “Me Vasantrao” brought immense appreciation for him from all across the Marathi audience.

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