Filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon: ‘Patriotism is apolitical. It’s your love for your country’

Updated On: 15 August, 2026 08:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Komal RJ Panchal

Filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon believes patriotism is about doing something good for the country, not jingoism or politics. Reflecting on Airlift and Pippa, he said his films focus on humanity, sacrifice and circumstances that make extraordinary courage necessary

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Ishaan Khatter in ‘Pippa’; (left) Raja Krishna Menon. Pics/Youtube, By Special Arrangement

Patriotism means different things to different people. What does it mean to filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon, mid-day asked him when we spoke with him days ahead of Independence Day.

“Patriotism comes from doing something good,” he said matter-of-factly. The philosophy has guided his films, Airlift (2016), based on the evacuation of Indians from Kuwait during the 1990 Iraq invasion, and Pippa (2023), set against the 1971 India-Pakistan war.