Payanam (2011 film)


Payanam is a 2011 Indian action thriller film that was directed and co-written by Radha Mohan. It was simultaneously filmed in the Telugu and Tamil languages, the latter being titled Gaganam. The film's plot is based on an aircraft hijacking. The film stars Nagarjuna and Prakash Raj, alongside an ensemble cast featuring Rishi, Sana Khan, Brahmanandam, Thalaivasal Vijay, M. S. Bhaskar, Babloo Prithiveeraj and Poonam Kaur, amongst others. Payanam and Gaganam were produced by Raj and Dil Raju, respectively. The film was released on 11 February 2011 to a positive reception.

Plot

On a flight from Chennai to Delhi, five passengers retrieve weapons from the toilet and use them to hijack the aircraft. During a struggle with the pilots to divert the plane to Rawalpindi, an engine is damaged, so they make an emergency landing at Tirupati Airport. Government authorities arrive. The hijackers demand, the release of their imprisoned leader Yusuf Khan, and a fresh aircraft for their escape.
A team is put together, led by Home Secretary K. Vishwanath, to tackle the situation. National Security Guard Major N. Raveendra "Ravi", who captured Yusuf Khan, recalls the death of a colleague at the shootout and regrets not killing Khan at the time. He urges the Government of India to allow a Special Forces commando operation, but officials fear risking passengers' lives and do not trust Ravi's team. Ravi is frustrated when the government vacillates, and it seems Khan might be released.
Inside the aircraft, the passengers gather in groups to discuss their past lives and religion. One of the terrorists becomes sentimentally attached to Afshana, a young girl who is returning to Karachi after a heart operation. The terrorist's associates, however, warn him not to become too attached to the girl because his main duty is to carry out the operation, which includes killing the passengers. Another passenger, Jagadheesh, a retired army colonel, frequently irritates the terrorists with questions about their motives. Tensions rise until Praveen, a drug-addicted passenger, attempts an escape but is shot by a terrorist, who then warns the authorities to act quickly.
Ravi's colleague Nawaz Khan discovers Tamil Nadu Police have identified a missing cleaner who prepared the toilet of the flight before its departure. Ravi and Nawaz go to find the cleaner, hoping to get information about the nature of the weapons that were left for the hijackers. After a chase in Red Hills, they capture the cleaner, who admits his involvement in the plot and gives vague information about the size of the weapon he placed in the toilet. Ravi and Nawaz deduce the weapon is a plastic explosive.
On his return, Ravi is told the government has decided to release Khan but while being transported to the airport, Khan dies in an accident. Ravi asks officials to be very confident about this information so they can plan an assault without the terrorists' knowledge. A reporter disguises himself as an assistant to a senior police official; he closely approaches the aircraft, records video of the aircraft using a pen camera and overhears two officials in a restroom discussing Khan's accident. The terrorists become alarmed. Despite attempts to contain the news, the media leak it. One of the terrorists kills a passenger named Subash, and threatens to kill one passenger every 30 minutes unless it is proven that Khan is alive. Ravi arranges for actor Ranganath, who portrayed Khan in a film called Bharat Maata, to make the terrorists believe Khan is alive and being treated at a hospital.
Ravi plans an operation to rescue the victims and names it Operation Garuda. Through a female cleaner, he secretly sends a mobile phone hidden in a food packet onto the plane so he can exchange information with Colonel Jagadheesh. Ravi plans to shoot the hijackers while they transit to a new flight by asking the passengers to bend down when they get a signal. The plan succeeds, and four of the five hijackers are killed. The last terrorist is killed with the help of two passengers. The plastic explosive is found in Afshana's bag. Ravi throws it away and the bag explodes. The operation ends, the Prime Minister appreciates Ravi, and the passengers continue to their destination.
The passengers happily leave the flight, saying farewell each other, and agree to meet again. The terrorists' names are revealed to be Yasin, Munna, Omar, Anwar and Abdul.

Cast and characters

Flight crew and passengers

;Flight crew
;Terrorists
  • Iqbal Yaqub as Yasin
  • Balaji K. Mohan as Anwar
  • Nitish, Prince, and Sahil as members of the terrorist gang
;Flight passengers

Supporting cast

Production

Development, cast and crew

Radha Mohan, after directing the family-oriented romance and drama films Azhagiya Theeye, Mozhi and Abhiyum Naanum, decided to produce an action thriller about an aircraft hijacking. He approached his close friend, actor-producer Prakash Raj, who had produced all his earlier films. Raj agreed to fund this film after reading Flight Into Fear by Devi Sharan. This new film would mark the pair's fourth collaboration. Raj renamed his Duet Movies banner to Silent Movies, the logo and name of which Radha Mohan had designed. Mohan also decided to make the film simultaneously in both the Tamil and Telugu languages, and was able to persuade Telugu film producer Dil Raju to produce the Telugu version, titled Gaganam, whilst engaging actor Nagarjuna, who is well-known in both film industries, to play the lead role of a National Security Guards commando. Nagarjuna said Payanam was "one of the easiest" films he had worked on because he did not have to prepare much for the role since Mohan and Raj had done "so much research", spoken to army officers and had "everything about the role on paper – how commandos behave and dress". Nagarjuna chose the title for the Telugu version himself.
Nagarjuna, starring in his first direct Tamil film in 13 years, was part of an ensemble cast that included around 45 actors from both the Tamil and Telugu industries, the cast being retained for both versions. This was Nagarjuna's first film without a love interest for his character. Nagarjuna found it difficult to mouth Tamil dialogues due to his lack of fluency in the language. His Tamil voice was dubbed by Sekar. Prakash Raj, who had starred in all of Mohan's earlier films, was cast in a main role. He considered Babloo Prithiveeraj's character Chandrakanth, a superstar, to represent "all falsehood in our cinema". Sana Khan played a passenger that was held hostage. To prepare for his role of a priest in the film, M. S. Bhaskar observed the diction and gait of priests at churches. Narayan Lucky played a drug addict. After sending his application for the film's casting, Sricharan received the opportunity to play dual roles: a terrorist named Yusuf Khan and a junior artist named Ranganath. Mohan had already had Sricharan in mind for the dual role after seeing his performance in M3V. This film marked the debut of IT professional Iqbal Yaqub. The film featured around 70 extras as flight passengers throughout the film including Manager Cheena.

Filming and post-production

Despite widespread reports that Payanam was based on the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814, Raj has denied these reports, making clear it was about a fictional hijack that takes place at Tirupati Airport. Art director Kathir erected a grand set resembling Tirupati airport at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. The airport set was constructed within one month and cost ₹3 crore. The film was also shot at Chennai and Kullu-Manali. For Gaganam, Satyam Rajesh and Uttej dubbed for Chaams and Elango Kumaravel, respectively. Both of the versions had different runtimes to suit the local audiences' sensibilities, with the Telugu version being shorter than the Tamil version.
The release of Payanam and Gaganam was postponed several times despite being them ready for release in September 2010: the release of Brindavanam in October, several high-key Tamil films in November, and Nagavalli and Ragada in December further delayed both versions of the film's release. The post-production of Gaganam was delayed by the strike in the Telugu film industry in January 2010. Dil Raju talked with the producers of Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Appalaraju and helped secure the 11 February release date for Gaganam.

Themes and influences

According to film critic Baradwaj Rangan, "You could call Payanam a cross between a disaster movie and a Mouli stage play. There's such an air of bonhomous familiarity to those who grew up in the seventies and the eighties". Unlike American hijack films like Executive Decision, which are supposed to be suspenseful throughout, Payanam also included comedic sequences.

Music

Pravin Mani, who had worked as an assistant under A. R. Rahman in Nagarjuna's Tamil debut Ratchagan, was assigned as the film composer and worked on the film's background score. The film would include only one solo song, which was composed by Pravin and was written by Vairamuthu's son Madhan Karky. According to the director: Payanam "is a different film, a very character-oriented film with no songs". Nagarjuna attributed the film's lack of songs to Indian cinema's attempt to replicate Hollywood.

Reception

Tamil version

Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com rated Payanam 3.5 out of 5 and stated: "The sequences are logical, even while allowing for dashes of humour, soul-searching, and feel-good factors; the whole setting has a realistic feel that draws you in". Rangan wrote, "The film is brisk and never boring. But its biggest achievement may be in proving that it is possible to sneak various genres past the barbed-wire boundaries of Tamil cinema". A critic from Sify.com stated: "The film's supporting cast is what makes it work. On the whole, Radha Mohan's Payanam is an enjoyable ride." Chennai Online praised the attempt to insert comedy in the action sequences, saying; "A big plus is a comedy in the script with the various characters from all backgrounds from a star to an astrologer, all thrown together in the aircraft". The Hindu noted; "The film grabs audience attention from the word go – you're worried about the plight of the passengers one minute, chuckling the very next at the wry humour, and before long, gripped by the suspense". The reviewer also praised the art director, stating: "The aircraft and airport are apparently a set. Really? Art director Kathir, take a bow!" and also said; "As the end credits roll, you only wish there had been a Major Raveendran who had his way in December 1999 at Amritsar". A critic from The Times of India gave a score of 2.5 out of 5 and said; "Radhamohan's Payanam would have been a more engaging watch only if the journey was a littler shorter". A critic from The New Indian Express wrote, "Rarely has a flight-hijack drama been presented on the Indian screen. There are rare ones like the recent Malayalam release Khandahar inspired by a real-life incident. So, Payanam a bilingual centered on a hijack-plot, comes as a welcome change".

Telugu version

Radhika Rajamani of Rediff.com wrote: "Director Radhamohan has crafted a brilliant hijack drama in Gaganam. The film is filled with suspense and thrills and laced occasionally with humour." Jeevi of Idlebrain.com called Gaganam "a decent film which should be watched with an open mind". A critic from The New Indian Express called Gaganam "a must watch".