"Hijack was shot in 55 degrees temperature" - Kunal Shivdasani 
By Joginder Tuteja, March 14, 2008 - 12:24 IST
Ad man turned filmmaker Kunal Shivdasani fondly remembers the days he shot for Hijack. Surprising, since he and his
crew went through quite some ordeal while stationed at Ras-Al-Khema (UAE) which is about 150 km from Dubai. The director
reveals that sweltering conditions prevailed in the city as the crew shot some of the most important scenes in the summer of
2007.
"I guess God came down from sky and made the movie happen", exhales Kunal who is gearing up for the May release of
Hijack, "If you ask me the question - 'Whether you would be able to shoot Hijack again in similar circumstances and
situations' - my answer would be NO! Even if I push myself to an extreme, I am sure I can't do it again."
Why, what happened? "Arrey poocho mat", he says animatedly, "There we were a crew of about 50-60 people in Ras-Al-Khema and
we had to shoot some important sequences on the runway. We had a runway for our self, the airplane, choppers and the works. But
guess what, while entire production was well taken care of, it was the heat which drained us out. Imagine shooting in constant
temperature of around 55 degrees Celsius in peak summer season!"
He goes on to add, "In fact during our breaks, we used to run towards the plane as we hunted for our places under a shadow. It
used to be quite some sight with us eating food while sitting under a plane's wings."
"Thank God for the great commitment shown by my cast and crew", he remembers, "We had to shoot day after day from 6 AM to 6
PM but no one complained. The schedule was tight since for the shooting of Hijack, the entire runway was shut down for 12
days. It was during this duration that we were required to shoot a major portion of the film and we couldn't afford to relax or waste
any previous time."
Not many films have been centered entirely on a hijack incident. Though Yeh Dil Aashiqana (Karan Nath) and
Zameen (Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan) did touch upon an airplane being hijacked, this wasn't the focal point of the
narrative.
"I was in fact warned by many that a film like this won't be a feasible option", reveals Kunal, "People did tell me to choose a
different subject for my debut film as it wasn't entirely possible to have a film centered on a hijack. Also, getting a real plane would
have been a challenge in itself. However, when I look back and see that this has been accomplished in a way that has surpassed
my own expectations, I get immense satisfaction. As I said earlier, I know that God was with us when Hijack was being
made."
Set in a Die Hard mode, Hijack stars Shiney Ahuja and Esha Deol in principal roles. The film is aiming for a 2nd/9th
May release.
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"Hijack is set in a 'Die Hard' mode" - Kunal Shivdasani
