From Neerja to Bell Bottom, a look at hijacking dramas ahead of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack release

With the upcoming release of Anubhav Sinha's Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, set to stream on August 29, 2024, interest in flight hijacking narratives has once again piqued among Indian audiences. Over the years, Bollywood and regional Indian cinema have explored this intense and gripping theme through various films. These movies, ranging from thrillers and action-packed dramas to biographical accounts, have captivated viewers with their depiction of real-life incidents and fictional tales inspired by actual events. Whether it's the critically acclaimed Neerja, which honours the bravery of a flight attendant, or the adrenaline-fuelled Bell Bottom, which revisits India's turbulent 1980s, these films offer a deep dive into the world of hijackings, espionage, and heroism. 

As the release of IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack draws near, it's a perfect time to revisit these portrayals that have brought the tension and drama of hijacking situations to the silver screen.

Aithe (Netflix & Prime Video)

Gangaraju Gunnam's studio Just Yellow produced the 2003 Telugu thriller Aithe, while Chandra Sekhar Yeleti wrote and directed it. Mohit Chadda, Shashank, Abhishek, Janardhan, and Sindhu Tolani are among the debutants featured, with Pavan Malhotra playing a crucial part. Commercially, the film was a smashing success, running for 100 days. Malhotra took home the Nandi Special Jury Award that year, and Aithe took home the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu that same year.

Criminal nexus and hijacking in the criminal underworld are the themes of the film. In order to carry out his global terror plot, a gangster boards an aircraft and seeks out four individuals who do not have any criminal records.

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Bell Bottom (Prime Video)

Ranjit M. Tewari helms the action thriller Bell Bottom, released in 2021. Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, and Nikkhil Advani are producing the film under their own labels, Pooja Entertainment and Emmay Entertainment, while Aseem Arrora and Parveez Sheikh pen the screenplay. Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta, and Huma Qureshi all make lengthy cameo appearances, but Akshay Kumar is the main attraction. The actual hijackings of Indian Airlines Flights 423, 405, and 421 in the 1980s by Khalistani militants served as an inspiration for Bell Bottom.

While critics praised the performances of Dutta and Kumar as well as the film's art direction, writing, score, and cinematography, they panned the film for its conclusion and inadequate special effects. A combination of the product's mixed reception and the subsequent lockdown in several states caused by the second wave of COVID-19 contributed to its commercial failure.

By the early 1980s, a number of aircraft hijackings had occurred in India. In 1984, yet another such issue confronted the nation. When Bell Bottom, portrayed by Akshay Kumar, a RAW agent, discovers the plot, India launches an undercover operation. An obscure hero led the operation, which became a pivotal moment in India's history.

Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (Netflix)

Ajay Singh directed and Amar Kaushik produced the 2023 heist thriller Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga. Sharad Kelkar, Indraneil Sengupta, and Barun Chanda play important roles, and Sunny Kaushal and Yami Gautam are the main stars.

A flight attendant and her business partner's goal is to escape from a loan shark by stealing diamonds. When a theft goes disastrously wrong at an altitude of forty thousand feet, a hostage crisis ensues.

Hijack (YouTube)

Shiney Ahuja and Esha Deol feature in the 2008 action thriller flick Hijack. The events surrounding the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 serve as the inspiration for the film's screenplay and direction by Kunal Shivdasani.

The Chandigarh Airport employs Vikram Madan (Shiney Ahuja) as a ground maintenance engineer. Rajeev, the head of security at the same airport, is the only person he knows outside of work. Ishitha Chauhan portrays Priya, who is travelling from Delhi to Amritsar with her teacher to participate in a debating tournament. The Indian police have apprehended a man named Rasheed (KK Raina), and a gang of six terrorists working for him hijacked that flight. The plane had no choice but to touch down at Chandigarh Airport. These terrorists are threatening to kill the hostages on board the plane unless the Indian government releases Rasheed. Now Vikram must decide whether to risk his daughter Priya's life by attempting to sneak into the plane. He begins to plot and kill the terrorists one by one as he breaks into the plane with the help of the flight hostess Saira (Esha Deol). Terrorists target unsuspecting passengers, causing their deaths. But Vikram and Saira, working together, manage to save the day.

IB71 (Disney+ Hotstar)

Sankalp Reddy wrote and directed IB71, a 2023 spy thriller film. It is based on the 1971 hijacking of Indian Airlines. Along with Anupam Kher, Ashwath Bhatt, Danny Sura, and Suvrat Joshi, it features Vidyut Jammwal, Vishal Jethwa, and Faizan Khan. Jammwal's first feature film as a producer, IB71, hit theatres to mixed reviews.

Within 10 days of each other in 1971, the Intelligence Bureau got crucial information about the approaching assaults on India by Pakistan and China. In order to demonstrate the breach of the Tashkent Agreement—which entails arranging for Kashmiri separatists to hijack an Indian plane and make sure it lands in Pakistani territory—IB agent Dev Jammwal informs his superior N.S. Avasti that, due to time and resource constraints, the only option to combat this threat is to establish an airspace blockade. The authorities first wrote off the plan as unrealistic, but they see its potential and consent to carry out the organised operation. A deviation from the original plan occurs when unexpected events happen while the entire intelligence officer team is staying in a Lahore hotel, adding complications to the situation.

Kandahar (Disney+ Hotstar & ShemarooMe [OTTplay Premium])

Major Ravi wrote and directed the Malayalam military drama Kandahar, which debuted in 2010. Following 2006's Keerthi Chakra and 2008's Kurukshetra, Mohanlal returns to the role of Major Mahadevan in this third film in the series. Both Ganesh Venkatraman and Amitabh Bachchan make their debuts in Malayalam cinema with this film.

Indian Airlines Flight 814's 1999 hijacking serves as the plot's inspiration. From an Indian point of view, the film depicts the political situation. After a group of extremely violent terrorists hijacked a plane, Major Mahadevan and his team embarked on a mission to combat an international terrorist organisation. They also released Kandahar's Tamil and Hindi dubs. Unlike the prequels, critics were not fond of the film.

Neerja (Disney+ Hotstar)

Ram Madhvani directed the 2016 biographical thriller film Neerja, while Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh and Saiwyn Quadras wrote the screenplay. In addition to Sonam Kapoor, supporting cast members include Shekhar Ravjiani, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tiku, Kavi Shastri, and Jim Sarbh. Critics especially praised Kapoor's performance and Madhvani's direction. It received two accolades at the 64th National Film Awards: Best Hindi Feature Film and Special Mention (Kapoor). 

An actual event—the 5 September 1986 attempt by the Abu Nidal Organisation, backed by Libya, to hijack Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan—forms the basis of the plot. The film follows flight attendant Neerja Bhanot as she recounts the events leading up to the plane's grounding after she foiled a hijack attempt by communicating with the pilots. Out of 379 people on board, 359 made it out alive, and Bhanot gave his life fighting to save them all.

Payanam (Disney+ Hotstar)

Directed and written by Radha Mohan, Payanam is an action thriller from 2011. Radha Mohan shot both the Tamil and Telugu versions simultaneously, naming the Telugu version Gaganam. An airline hijacking incident serves as the inspiration for the film's plot. Nagarjuna, Prakash Raj, Poonam Kaur, Sana Khan, Rishi, Brahmanandam, and Thalaivasal Vijay are all part of the cast of Payanam. Both critics and audiences praised the film, which Raj and Dil Raju helped produce.

This riveting and suspenseful hijack drama delves into the complex series of events that transpire when a hijacker hijacks an aircraft from Chennai to Delhi, holding its passengers captive to secure the release of their commander, Yusuf Khan. Only Major Ravindra of the National Security Guards, who was part of the unit that caught Yusuf Khan two years earlier, along with Majors Nawaz Khan and Menon, remains as the passengers' sole hope. Are the heroic security personnel going to be successful in stopping the terrorists and keeping their commander in jail?

Yodha (Prime Video)

This year saw the release of Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha's action thriller, Yodha. Dharma Productions, featuring Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, and Apoorva Mehta, produced the film, while Ambre co-wrote the screenplay. Among the actors included in the film are Sidharth Malhotra, Raashii Khanna, Disha Patani, and Sunny Hinduja. The box office performance of Yodha was ordinary.

An international flight hijack presents a high-stakes challenge for a Yodha task force officer. Deftly navigating a labyrinth of treachery and peril, he must save the passengers while preserving his reputation.

Zameen (Disney+ Hotstar)

Rohit Shetty made his directorial debut with the 2003 action thriller Zameen. Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, and Bipasha Basu are the stars, and the film's performance at the box office was ordinary.

Zameen's plot loosely draws inspiration from the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, but a more accurate portrayal comes from the actual 1976 rescue operation in Entebbe, Uganda, where the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) rescued 102 hostages held by the PFLP-EO and the West German group Revolutionary Cells.

In Zameen, there was a daring assault on the Indian Parliament building by Islamic militants backed by Pakistan. The Indian army tasked Colonel Ranvir Singh Ranawat (Ajay Devgn) with this mission. He and his soldiers successfully apprehend and detain Baba Zaheer Khan, who was the ringleader. The Colonel demanded his resignation following the conviction of one of his subordinates, Jaideep Rai (Abhishek Bachchan), for the deaths of nine troops. Al-Tahit, an Islamic terrorist organisation, gathers a group of men to try to free Baba from prison, but Jaideep, now the ACP in Mumbai, foils their plan. With Jaideep's wife Nandini (Bipasha Basu), an in-flight supervisor, on board, this gang hijacks an Indian Airlines plane travelling from Mumbai to Kathmandu while evading the authorities. The gang redirects the 107-person plane to Kazan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where it encounters more armed militants and the Pakistani army. In a joint effort to save the lives of the passengers, they are demanding Baba Zaheer's release. The Indian Army and police have asked both Ranvir and Jaideep to cooperate. Ranvir is sick of Jaideep's abilities, and the latter is looking into allegations that Ranvir and his men supplied weapons to Pakistanis and terrorists. The two nonetheless manage to devise a scheme to rescue the hostages and catch the attackers. Regrettably, their plan has already been unravelled, potentially leading to their near demise.

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