Film Critic: Goher Iqbal Punn
Producer: Eros Entertainment
Director: Kunal Shivdasani
Cast: Shiny Ahuja and Esha Deol
Eros Entertainment’s Hijack hits the theaters. But does it hit the hearts to impress you, the answer is strictly ‘No’…reasons…!!! Well, you will get to know once you read the whole review. Kunal Shivdasani’s directed venture stars the likes of Shiney Ahuja and sha Deol in the lead. The film also shows you the statistical data of the hijacked planes across the globe so far. To fight with the hijackers or arrest them, a skilled force is called to do the action. But in this flick, our brave Bollywood hero single-handedly fights with the group of hijackers. Could you digest it? Hope…’Not’….!
Admit, the execution wise, the film looks Hollywoodish. Full marks to Kunal for that. But as far as the script is concerned, it’s not appealing at all. What happened to Kunal and Gavendra Agarwal, when they scripted the story? At least, they must have shown some realism in the narrative. The casting is also one of the big letdowns of the movie. The casting of the amateur actors spoils the impact. The passengers in the plane fail to create the panic atmosphere convincingly. Why the need arose to put the rapid songs in the film? Weird…! Why has Shiney been shown heroic in the movie? Do the director and writers not know that today’s audience is not dupe? Audience has become intelligent now. This, our directors and writers will have to admit now.
Vikram (Shiney Ahuja) is a ground maintenance officer at Chandigarh Airport. His social life is limited to one friend, Rajeev, who is the Security Chief of the same airport. As luck would have it, the flight in which Vikram’s daughter is travelling, from Delhi to Amritsar, is hijacked by a group of terrorists. Though the plane is seized control of, the hijackers seem to be quite undecided on their demands. First, the hijackers ask the pilot to divert the plane to Dubai for reasons unexplained. Since the aircraft is short of fuel so the flight has to land in the interim in Chandigarh. Here, they put their demand of liberating their terrorist leader held captive by the Indian government.
Vikram decides to barge in the aircraft and take control of things without need of any bureaucratic backup since his daughter is held hostage in the flight. Follows next is his unaided fight against the hijackers. The only accomplice in Vikram’s mission is the air hostess Saira (Esha Deol).
Kunal Shivdasani’s direction … yes…deserves huge marks. On script side, he and Gavendra Agarwal fall flat. Justin-Uday’s music is mundane. The action sequences are well handled by Allan Amin. Jehangir Chowdhary’s cinematography attracts.
Shiney Ahuja enacts well but the characterization (the writers have done for him) spoils his image. Esha Deol is strictly okay. Rest of the cast is unimpressive.
In a nutshell, ‘Hijack’ does hijack your pleasures. So avoid it.
RS Rating: 1.5/5
- The reviewer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian TV Analyst and laced with a good rapport with the swanky worlds of Hindi film industry and television fraternity. He also shares good rapport with the celebs of these abodes. You may write to him at the e-mails: goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk, goher.punn@yahoo.com and bollywood.tv.analyst@gmail.com