Popular Bollywood filmmaker Nikkhil Advani has revealed that the late actor Irrfan was the first choice to play the role of Ranjit Katyal in ‘Airlift’, which was eventually played by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. In an interview. The ‘D-Day’ director recalled a meeting with Akshay Kumar, where the latter was intrigued after listening to the story of the 2016 film.