Nagarjuna's ‘Payanam’ revisits 1999 hijacking

Nagarjuna and Prakash Raj star in the Tamil film “Payanam,” a thriller about a plane hijacking. It has been inspired by the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 to Kandahar.
Directed by Radha Mohan, the film will release Feb. 11 along with its Telugu version, “Gaganam,” in time for the Valentine’s Day weekend, according to a press release.
The film revolves around a domestic flight hijacked by terrorists.
Nagurjuna plays a commando in charge of the rescue operation, while Prakash Raj, also the producer of the film, plays a senior bureaucrat who is assigned to negotiate with the terrorists.
Sana Khan plays an air hostess. Bharath Reddy, Poonam Kaur, Brahmanandam are among the passengers on the plane. The film does not have any songs, but background music is scored by Praveen Mani, the press release said.
The film will be Mohan’s first action thriller. His previous films were romantic comedies.
In the film, Flight SK957-Star Jet which is set to take off from Chennai for New Delhi on a Monday morning, is hijacked by a team of five terrorists, who are seeking the release of their leader, Yusuf Khan.
The pilot is forced to make an emergency landing in Tirupati due to a technical snag.
A Union minister, a retired colonel, a film superstar, a middle-aged couple, an astrologer, a doctor, a priest, a team of mimicry artists and a magician are some of the passengers on board the hijacked flight, the release said.
Major Ravi from the National Security Guards, who had captured Yusuf Khan after a well-planned operation two years ago, heads a rescue mission.
But when the militants start to execute passengers, he comes under extreme pressure. Will the rescue mission work, or will Yusuf Khan be handed over to the terrorists?