Mission Raniganj’s real story: How Jaswant Singh Gill,the inspiration behind Akshay Kumar’s character, helped save the lives of 65 miners

In his upcoming movie, Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue, actor Akshay Kumar is on a new mission after Mission Mangal and Kesari. He will reprise his role as mining expert Jaswant Singh Gill in the Tinu Suresh Desai-directed and Vipul K. Rawal-written movie. A glimpse into the true account of Gill saving 65 miners from a flooded mine in Raniganj, West Bengal, was provided in the movie’s trailer.

Jaswant Singh Gill, who was born in Amritsar in 1940, first attended Khalsa School before enrolling in a BSc (non-medical) program at Khalsa College (Amritsar). Before beginning work for Coal India Limited in 1973, he earned a BSc (Honors) from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. He advanced through the ranks from 1 to 9 during his employment before retiring in 1998 as Engineer-in-Chief. The rescue mission at the Mahabir Colliery in Raniganj, West Bengal, was the most important event of his more than two-decade career. He freed 65 trapped miners from a flooded coal mine, saving their lives. After the incident, he was given the nickname Capsule Gill as well.