: Gill drilled a new borehole and personally descended into the flooded pit. Over a period of six hours, he winched the miners out one by one. He was the last person to exit the mine, earning the nickname "Capsule Gill".

On 19 November 1989, the final miner was pulled out alive. All 65 trapped workers had been rescued. Jaswant Singh Gill became a national hero, earning the nickname "Capsule Gill" and receiving India’s Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak for exceptional bravery. He passed away in 2019, but his legacy remained largely unknown to the general public for decades—until Bollywood decided to bring his story to the big screen.

The film charts a familiar but thrilling course. It begins by introducing Jaswant Singh Gill as a principled but undervalued officer at a mining company. When the mine collapses and floods, he watches as conventional rescue attempts fail. Facing not only the physical challenges of the rescue but also the political and bureaucratic red tape, he takes matters into his own hands. The narrative focuses on his relentless 48-hour struggle to drill a new borehole and lower his handmade capsule, all while his wife (Parineeti Chopra) waits anxiously at home.

Mission Raniganj is not just a disaster movie. It is a reminder that heroes don't always wear capes; sometimes they wear hard hats and carry slide rules.

The film is categorized as a "survival thriller" or "human drama," focusing on teamwork, courage, and technical ingenuity.

Upon its release on October 6, 2023, "Mission Raniganj" received mixed to negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator IMDb, the film holds a rating of 7.2/10, indicating a more positive reception from the general audience. The film currently has a 2.5/5 star rating on Times of India and a 2/5 rating on Koimoi.

Jaswant Singh Gill passed away in 2019, but his legacy is finally getting its due. In an era where we celebrate celebrities and influencers, this film forces us to ask: Who are our real heroes?

Gill's character was marked by a unique blend of technical expertise and profound humanity. At a time of crisis, while other officers were hesitant to take the risk, Gill volunteered to go down into the flooded mine himself. He is remembered for his words to his family as he prepared for the dangerous descent: “ Plan mera hai, main hi neeche jaakar sabko bachaunga ” (The plan is mine, I will go down and save everyone myself). For his unparalleled bravery, he was honoured with the (the highest civilian award for gallantry) by the then-President of India, Ramaswamy Venkataraman, in 1991. He also received the Bhagat Puran Award for his service to humanity.

However, the film faced severe headwinds at the ticket windows:

It serves as a vital corrective to the "savior complex" trope. Jaswant Singh Gill was a hero not because he wanted to die for his country, but because he refused to let 65 men die when he had the knowledge to save them. The film is a fitting eulogy to the late engineer, preserving a forgotten chapter of Indian industrial history with dignity, tension, and heart. It is a reminder that sometimes, the greatest battles are fought not with weapons, but with wits, deep underground in the dark.