In 1990, Indian bussinessman Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar) is a successful Kuwait-based

bussinessman who is very well-connected with officials in Kuwait and Baghdad, and makes a happy
home with his wife Amrita (Nimrat Kaur) and their daughter Simu. He calls himself a Kuwaiti and is
often derisive towards Indians.
After a night of partying, Ranjit is woken up to a phone call from his friend and receives word that
negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait have collapsed, and Iraqi troops have begun their invasion of
Kuwait. Iraq owes a large debt to Kuwait after the Iran–Iraq War and President Saddam Hussein of
Iraq had urged Kuwait during earlier talks to reduce their oil supply so prices can rise in the market
and Iraq can stabilize their economy. When Kuwait refused, and began slant-drilling into Iraqi oil
fields, Saddam ordered the attack. That morning, Ranjit discovers that Kuwait is now mostly overrun
by the Iraqi Army. Ranjit and Nair, his driver, go out and drive to the Indian embassy in an attempt to
take their family and leave Kuwait. They are stopped by Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint and Nair is
shot dead amidst the confusion. A shocked Ranjit is then taken to the Emir's palace. There he
meets Iraqi Republican Guard officer Major Khalaf bin Zayd (Inaamulhaq), who reveals that he was
the one who pulled up to the checkpoint earlier and prevented Ranjit from any harm. Major Khalaf,
who knows Ranjit from Ranjit's visits to Iraq, chides him but extends his personal friendship,
ensuring Ranjit and his family's safety from the soldiers.
From there, Ranjit goes to the Indian embassy where he learns that the Kuwaiti government has fled
into exile. Some 170,000 Indians in Kuwait are now stranded as refugees. Iraqi forces continue to
push through Kuwait and Ranjit's mansion is raided by Iraqi soldiers, but his wife and child manage
to escape to his office. Ranjit convinces his friends to work together, and they set up a makeshift
camp for some 500 Indians with Major Khalaf's permission. Amrita urges Ranjit to use his leverage
to extricate his own family, but Ranjit, who ordinarily would have just looked out for himself, appears
to have a change of heart. He decides to stay and help the other Indians leave Kuwait.
Ranjit learns that the Indian embassy in Kuwait has been evacuated and phones the Indian External
Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, where he reaches the Joint Secretary, Sanjiv Kohli (Kumud Mishra),
and asks for arrangements to be made for the evacuation. Later on, the camp is looted by Iraqi
soldiers and harassed some of the refugees. Ranjit pays a visit to Major Khalaf and talks to him
about this, to which the Major simply extends his apologies, and also reveals that President Saddam
has already permitted Indians to leave Kuwait, but the problem is that they have no way to do so.
Ranjit travels to Baghdad to try to negotiate safe passage out of Kuwait, but to no avail. The only
remaining option, Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, turns out to be helpful. He discloses that an
Indian merchant ship is due to arrive in Iraq with various supplies, and permits the Indian refugees to
leave on the ship. However, Ranjit later receives news of the UN embargo and that ships are barred
from entering or leaving Iraq, effectively crushing their hopes of getting out.