Zameen () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

film directed by

Rohit Shetty Rohit Shetty (born 14 March 1974) is an Indian film director, stuntman, producer and television host who works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the most recognised film director of Hindi Cinema. His movies are often mix genres of action, comedy a ...

in his directorial debut. The film stars

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

and

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu Singh Grover (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress and former model. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and English films. Basu is the recipient of numerous accolade ...

. The movie did average business at the box office. The plot of ''Zameen'' is loosely based upon the

Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 199 ...

though more closely represents the rescue mission taken by the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

(IDF) in 1976 at

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. T ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

where the IDF rescued 102 hostages taken by the PFLP-EO and the West German group Revolutionary Cells.

Plot

Terrorists, backed by

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, boldly attack the Indian Parliament building. The

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

assigns this matter to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Ranvir Singh Ranawat (

), who along with his men, apprehends and arrests the ring-leader Baba Zaheer Khan (

Mukesh Tiwari Mukesh Tiwari (born 24 August 1969) is an Indian actor, who has worked predominantly in Bollywood. and few Tamil films. He is known for playing negative and comic side roles. He entered the film industry in the year 1998 with the movie '' China ...

). The Colonel takes one of his subordinates, Jaideep Rai (

) to task, as nine soldiers were killed due to his negligence and asks him to resign. A terrorist group, Al-Tahir, recruits a group of men to try to evacuate their leader Baba Zaheer from Army prison, albeit in vain as their plans are thwarted by Jaideep, who is now an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

city. ACP Jaideep summons a usual suspect named Fareed ( Sanjay Mishra), who is a Garage owner for the vehicles recovered from the teo release their leader Baba Zaheer in lieu of the lives of all 107 on-board passengers. Presence of the professor, and throws his dead body into the sea. The professor bribes two corrupt officials of the

Mumbai Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic af ...

to sneak in Guns inside the flight as they never go through the security checks. In a cross-fire between Mumbai ATS, ACP Jilitants' gets the police, this group hijacks an

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after m ...

plane, en route from Mumbai to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, with Jaideep's fianceè, Nandini (

), an in-flight supervisor, and

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Basheer Ali (

Pankaj Dheer Pankaj Dheer is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films and TV series. He is known for his role of Karna in TV series ''Mahabharat and'' other roles in '' Chandrakanta'', ''The Great Maratha'', '' Yug'' and '' Badho Bahu''. He appeared in se ...

), ACP Jaideep's foster father on board. The plane, with 107 passengers and crew, is re-routed to Kazan in

Pakistan-administered Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompass ...

where they are met with more armed terrorists as well as the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

. Together, they demand the release of Baba Zaheer in exchange for the lives of the passengers. ACP Jaideep soon recollects from his last conversation over the phone with Nandini that one of the two airports ground-staff did not leave the flight till the last moment of its departure. Jaideep apprehends him to which he confesses of sneaking in guns and other ammunition into the flight. The Indian Government makes a failed attempt to convince the Pakistani Ambassador (

Arun Bali Arun Bali (23 December 1942 – 7 October 2022) was an Indian actor who has worked in numerous films and television series. He played the part of King Porus in the 1991 period drama ''Chanakya'', Kunwar Singh in the Doordarshan soap opera '' ...

) to either send the Pakistani Army or let the Indian Army enter Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to rescue the civilians on board the flight. The Army and the Indian police collaborate and both Ranvir and Jaideep are asked to work together. Ranvir is weary of Jaideep's capabilities, since Jaideep is investigating Ranvir and his men — who are suspected of supplying arms and ammunitions to terrorists and Pakistanis. The duo nevertheless works out a plan to free the hostages and apprehend the terrorists. What they do not know is that their plan has already been compromised, and they may well be headed to their respective deaths. After a major gun-battle, Ranvir and Jaideep manage to capture Baba Zaheer again only to throw him out of a flying Army helicopter, after the flight has taken off from Kazaan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Cast

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Ranvir Singh Ranawat *

as ACP Jaideep "Jai" Rai

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

, an Ex-

as Nandini Rai, Jai's fianceè *

Basheer Ali (Pilot), Jai's foster father *Kunwar Aziz as a Terrorist *

as Baba Zaheer Khan, leader of Al-Tahir *

Mohan Joshi Mohan Joshi is an Indian film, television and theater actor. He has worked in Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri films. Early life Joshi was born in Bangalore, Karnataka. He made his acting debut in Pune, Maharashtra. For better career prospects, ...

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Malik, Ranvir's senior officer * Sanjay Mishra as

henchman A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies pri ...

Fareed *Kamal Chopra as Commissioner of Police * Manish Khanna as Professor Santhanam *

D. Santosh D. Santosh (born 26 September 1976) is an Indian film and theatre actor from Trichy, Tamil Nadu who works in Hindi films and theatre plays. Early life Santosh was born on 19 September 1976. He is an engineering graduate from PSG Tech, Coimb ...

as COP Kadam *Jasbir Thandi as

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer who recognises the militants *

Subrat Dutta Subrata Dutta (born 16 November 1975) is an actor who appears in Indian films. He is best known for his role in Bollywood films like Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, ''Talaash'', ''Tango Charlie'', Zameen (2003 film), ''Zameen'', ''The Shaukeens' ...

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Puri * Eijaz Khan in a special appearance in " Dilli Ki Sardi" *

Amrita Arora Amrita Arora Ladak (born 31 January 1978) is an Indian actress, model, television presenter and video jockey (VJ), who primarily appears in Hindi-language films. Personal life and education She completed her secondary education from Swam ...

as an

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and Be ...

"Dilli Ki Sardi" *

Ram Awana Ram Awana (born 1 March 1971) is an India, Indian film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Raja Paundrak in ''Dwarkadheesh – Bhagwaan Shree Krishn'', Chanur in ''Jai Shri Krishna (TV series), Jai Shri Krishna'', Farooq in D ...

as Terrorist *

Mohit Chauhan (actor) Mohit Chauhan is a Bollywood actor from India. He made his debut in Rohit Shetty's ''Zameen'', but achieved fame in ''Chak De India'' (as Shahrukh’s friend Uttam Singh), he went on to do movies like ''Dil Kabaddi'', ''Second Marriage Dot C ...

as Terrorist *

as the Pakistani ambassador to India * Rajendra Sethi as Pakistan ISI Chief Ahmad Harhash as Baby Raj Mishra

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was directed and composed by

Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film & music producer and actor in Hindi cinema. He started his career as music director in the film '' Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya'' in 1998 and made ...

, while

Sameer Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

wrote the lyrics. The music was released by T-Series.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zameen (2003 Film) 2000s Hindi-language films 2003 action thriller films 2003 directorial debut films 2003 films Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Films about aircraft hijackings Films about aviation accidents or incidents Films about terrorism in India Films directed by Rohit Shetty Films scored by Himesh Reshammiya Films set on airplanes Indian Army in films Indian aviation films Indian action thriller films Indian films based on actual events Kashmir conflict in films Military of Pakistan in films Operation Entebbe Films set in Azad Kashmir Millennium attack plots Films about jihadism India–Pakistan relations in popular culture