Akshay Kumar interacts with IIT-ISM students on 'Mission Raniganj'

Dhanbad: Actor Akshay Kumar has held a virtual interaction with students and faculty members of IIT-Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad on his upcoming movie 'Mission Raniganj -- The Great Bharat Rescue'.

The movie is based on the heroic act of mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill, an alumnus of the institution, who had saved 64 miners trapped in an inundated underground mine in West Bengal's Raniganj under the jurisdiction of Eastern Coalfields Limited in 1989.

The actor discussed Gill's heroic act and other issues during the interaction held at Penman auditorium of the institution from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm on Friday.

Gill, a 1965-batch mining engineer from the then Indian School of Mines (ISM), was honoured with the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the then President Ramaswamy Venkataraman in 1991 for his daredevil act.

IIT-ISM Director Professor J K Pattanayak, who was present during the virtual interaction, said, "Students asked him several questions on different issues including his upcoming film. The Bollywood star replied to all the queries. He also expressed his desire to visit the institute." Talking to the students, Kumar said he was very inspired when he came to know about Gill's act and decided to do a film on it.

Gill, who was posted at Mahabir Colliery of ECL in Raniganj at the time of the incident, fabricated a 2.5-m steel capsule and used it to evacuate all the trapped miners one by one.

Coal India had honoured him with a lifetime achievement award for this heroic work.