*High Jack* is a quirky stoner comedy that attempts to combine the chaos of a hijacked plane with the wild effects of a drug trip. The film follows Rakesh (Sumeet Vyas), an aspiring DJ from Delhi, who is desperate to make money to help his father with loan sharks breathing down their neck. His plans go awry when, in a drunken stupor, he strikes a deal with a drug dealer to transport a new drug from Goa to Delhi in exchange for money. However, things take a turn for the worse when the flight he is on is hijacked by disgruntled employees of Udaan Airlines.
The premise of turning a plane full of passengers into a stoned, chaotic party is a fun and promising concept, akin to stoner comedies like *Pineapple Express* or *Go Goa Gone*. The film does explore this idea, but only after a slow buildup, and the real drug-induced mayhem doesn't occur until later in the story. Before this, the film spends too much time on the antics of the hapless hijackers, who are portrayed as ineffectual and more bumbling than menacing. Additionally, there are subplots involving a married Punjabi couple, Kuku and Suman Taneja, who get high accidentally, and a cricketer with a shady past, which add little to the overall narrative.
While *High Jack* has some memorable comedic moments, like the wife singing bhajans on the plane’s intercom or a woman extracting money from hijackers for a premium seat, much of the humor feels like slapstick and doesn't fully capitalize on the stoner genre. The effects of the drugs on the passengers and the potential for chaos during turbulence are largely underexplored, leaving the film feeling like a missed opportunity for bigger laughs.
In conclusion, *High Jack* has a fun premise, but it doesn't fully deliver on the potential of its concept. It may be a nice introduction to the stoner genre in Indian cinema, but it could have benefited from a sharper execution. Hopefully, this film will inspire future takes on the genre that can better explore the chaos and absurdity that stoner comedies are known for.
