'Zameen' To 'Bell Bottom': Bollywood Movies Based On Plane Hijacking
Posted On: 10 Jan 2022 | Last Updated : 10 Jul 2023 | Views : 7.2k
Being a never-ending issue, terrorism has been a major concern at the international level. Right from bombing and conventional firearms to plane hijacking, every terror activity makes the victims suffer and bear the consequences in form of losing shelter, a job, or even their family. India has also suffered these terrorist attacks in the past, including several plane hijackings. Plane hijacking of Indian Airlines flights was a common issue in the 1980s, where the hijackers often demanded the release of important terrorists or a handsome sum of a ransom in exchange for the life of passengers. Bollywood is often stereotyped for its romance-driven or action films, however, many times Indian filmmakers experiment with different subjects. Some of these filmmakers borrowed the theme of their film from real-life plane hijackings and showcased the story of unsung or forgotten heroes, who played an important role in saving the lives of many. Here is the list of 11 Bollywood movies based on Plane Hijacking:
1. Unchi Uraan (1984)
Jagjit Khurana’s romantic drama Unchi Uraan was one of the first Bollywood movies based on the theme of plane hijacking. The movie stars actors like Pooja Saxena and Mayur Verma along with Suresh Chatwal, Paidi Jairaj, Javed Khan, Anant Mahadevan, Nana Palsikar, and Tun Tun. Based on plane hijacking, Unchi Uraan showcases how the protagonists stay hopeful in the midst of chaos due to the plane hijacking and finally good wins over evil.
2. Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa (2002)
Starring Karan Nath and Jividha Sharma, Kuku Kohli’s action thriller romantic drama Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa follows the story of two college students Karan Malhotra and Pooja. The two go to the same college and fall in love. Everything seems to go fine until one day when Pooja decides to go to Mumbai to meet her brother. Pooja’s flight gets hijacked by a group of terrorists and things seem to go extremely wrong. When Karan learns about the same, he puts his life in danger to save Pooja, but the two are shocked to know that Pooja’s brother is one of the hijackers.
3. Zameen (2003)
Rohit Shetty’s directorial debut action thriller drama Zameen stars Ajay Devgn as Col. Ranvir Singh Ranawat, Abhishek Bachchan as ACP Jaideep Rai and Bipasha Basu as Nandini Rai, Jaideep’s fiancée. The movie opens with a terrorist attack in the Indian Parliament Building, followed by the arrest of the leader of the terror group Baba Zaheer Khan (Mukesh Tiwari). This is further followed by the hijacking of an airplane by the group of terrorists demanding the release of their leader. ACP Jaideep Rai and Col. Ranvir Singh team up to fight against the terrorists and punish them rightfully, and save the innocents.
4. Hijack (2008)
Starring Shiney Ahuja and Esha Deol, Kunal Shivdasani’s action thriller drama Hijack, as suggested by the name, is a movie about plane hijacking. The movie revolves around a ground maintenance engineer at Chandigarh Airport, Vikram Madan (Shiney Ahuja). His life takes a turn when the flight to Amritsar from Delhi boarded by his daughter is hijacked by a group of six terrorists. The terrorists demand the release of their leader Rasheed (K. K. Raina), who has been captured by the Indian police. Vikram lays his life at risk to save his daughter in the aircraft. He breaches the aircraft somehow, and with the help of air hostess Saira (Esha Deol), he plots against the terrorists in order to save his daughter and other passengers.
5. Neerja (2016)
Based on the life of a flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, Ram Madhvani’s biographical thriller drama Neerja stars Sonam Kapoor as Neerja Bhanot, with Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tiku, Shekhar Ravjiani, Kavi Shastri and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles. Set in 1986, the movie follows the story of a 22-year-old flight attendant, Neerja, who boards Pan Am flight 73. The flight is also boarded by a group of Palestinian terrorists sponsored by Abu Nidal organisation, who hijack the plane in Karachi. Neerja risks her life to prevent the terrorists from killing the passengers.
6. High Jack (2018)
The action-comedy drama High Jack, directed by Akarsh Khurana, stars Sumeet Vyas, Mantra Mugdh, Sonnalli Seygall, Kumud Mishra and Priyanshu Painyuli in pivotal roles. The movie revolves around four employees of the airplane company, who are dissatisfied with their employer and decide to hijack the flight from Goa to Delhi. Things take a horrible turn when a passenger accidentally consumes a drink with drugs and gets high and soon many consume the same drink and get high on the drug. Packed with hilarity, the film doesn’t fail to tickle your funny bone despite the serious theme of plane hijacking.
7. Flight (2021)
The 2021 action thriller drama Flight, directed by Suraj Joshi, stars an ensemble cast of Mohit Chadda, Pavan Malhotra, Zakir Hussain, Shibani Bedi and others. The movie follows the story of Ranveer Malhotra (Mohit Chadda). A plane manufactured by Ranveer’s company crashes, which leads to the death of many passengers. Against the wishes of his shareholders, Ranveer decides to investigate the crash and find out the true reason behind the crash. However, things take a turn when his plane is hijacked. He has to fight all odds and face dreadful situations on his journey to find the truth.
8. Bell Bottom (2021)
Akshay Kumar starrer Bell Bottom, directed by Ranjit M. Tewari, also stars Lara Dutta, Vaani Kapoor and Huma Qureshi in important roles. The film is inspired by the real-life hijacking events in India by Khalistani separatists during the 1980s, such as Indian Airlines Flight 423, 405 and 421. Set in 1984, the film follows the events following the hijack of Indian Airlines Flight 691, the seventh such plane hijacking in India in five years, in which the hijackers demand to free the terrorists or money to be delivered. Anshul Malhotra or Agent Bell Bottom (Akshay Kumar), an undercover RAW agent, sets out to rescue the passengers, but he must overcome several challenges to succeed in the mission.
9. Yodha (2023)
The Dharma Productions’ 2023 action thriller drama Yodha stars Sidharth Malhotra, Disha Patani, and Raashi Khanna. The upcoming film Yodha is the first-ever action-film franchise of the production label, which is reportedly an aerial action film. The film is shot in over 210 countries and territories. The film is jointly helmed by Pushkar Ojha and Sagar Ambre. In the first look of the film, Sidharth is seen on the flight with a gun and scared passengers in the background. It is understandable that the hero will save the day with his heroism.
10. Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023)
Debutant director Ajay Singh’s heist thriller Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga also becomes a part of Bollywood movies that centered around plane hijacking. Starring Yami Gautam and Sunny Kaushal in the lead, the story dealt with a flight getting hijacked by a terrorist group while Neha (Yami Gautam playing an air hostess) parallelly tries to steal diamonds along with her boyfriend Ankit (Sunny Kaushal). The premise of the film was interesting aligned with unexpected twists and turns making it a worthwhile watch.
11. IB 71 (2023)
Vidyut Jammwal starrer IB 71 was yet another flick that had a premise based on a plane hijacking. The story dealt with a critical situation that India found itself in 1971 when India’s Intelligence Bureau receives critical information about an impending attack that is going to be carried out by Pakistan and China simultaneously on India within 10 days. With limited information, time and resources available, IB agent Dev Jammwal (Vidyut Jammwal) and his team orchestrate a hijacking of an Indian plane by Kashmiri separatists by ensuring it lands in Pakistani territory to counter the threat by implementing an airspace blockade.
