The harrowing but ultimately hopeful story of the FlyDubai airline hijacking incident last month is being developed as a narrative film by Dori Media Group and India’s Sphereorigin.
The Sept. 30 incident is believed to have been a terror plot by the co-pilot of the FlyDubai plane that was bound for Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. The flight was primarily full of Israeli citizens traveling home after visiting in Dubai. The co-pilot is alleged to have stabbed the plane’s captain and taken over the flight controls with the intention of crashing it into Ben-Gurion airport. The flight is reported to have plummeted more than 14,000 feet for about 30 seconds until valiant efforts by the injured pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, allowed passengers to overpower the suspected pilot in the cockpit.
The extraordinary circumstances have turned Machchhar into a national hero in his native India as well as in Israel. Dori Media, which produces film and TV out of Tel Aviv, Zurich and Buenos Aires, was approached by representatives for Sphereorigin about working together on a film. The project came together in record time in old-school fashion at the Mipcom content market and conference in Cannes.
“We were approached by streaming platforms and broadcasters in India expressing interest to tell the heroic story of the Indian pilot and the courageous Israeli passengers on that recent flight,” said Sunjoy Waddhwa, managing director at Mumbai-based Sphereorigins. “We are privileged to collaborate with Dori Media on this premium project as we have known and worked with them for a long time and together with Subh (Subhadarshi Tripathy) felt they’d be the ideal partner to produce a film of this caliber.”
Tripathy brokered the deal on behalf of Dori Media and Sphereorigin.
Dori Media chief Nadav Palti was surprised and energized to get a phone call from the parties on Oct. 11, on the eve of Mipcom opening. The sides met in the Dori Media booth at the Palais and hammered out the terms of the development pact by the afternoon of Oct. 14. Palti told Variety the speed of the deal coming together indicated the desire by the companies to tell the story of the incident that could have been a devastating tragedy but instead became a triumph that demonstrated the skill and the courage of Machchhar, who is recovering from his injuries. The co-pilot accused of carrying out the attack is under arrest and facing prosecution by UAE authorities.
“We are honored to jointly produce this special film with the team at Sphereorigins,” said Palti. “What happened on that flight was nothing short of a miracle and we will approach this film by looking to tell the heroic story of the pilot and those brave passengers who helped save the lives of many aboard that historic flight.”
In the narrative to has unfolded from authorities and passenger accounts, Machchhar had the presence of mind to open the locked door of the cockpit after he was stabbed. That allowed passengers to hear the commotion and discover what was happening. Machchhar tried to fight to retain control of the plane and amid that noise, a group of passengers were able to subdue the suspected assailant. Two other pilots who happened to be traveling on the flight then took over and were able to safely land the plane at the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The ability to do so marked a gesture of kindness from the Saudi kingdom that does not otherwise allow Israel-affiliated aircraft to land in its borders.
“I was lying on the floor injured but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” Machchhar said recently in a highly publicized video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I was of course fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die.”
Waddhwa moved to strike a film development deal around the incident after getting unsolicited inquiries from Indian media firms. The sides are still looking for a writer and director. The hope is to release it on an accelerated timetable next year.
“We were approached by streaming platforms and broadcasters in India expressing interest to tell the heroic story of the Indian pilot and the courageous Israeli passengers on that recent flight,” Waddhwa said. “We are privileged to collaborate with Dori Media on this premium project as we have known and worked with them for a long time and together with Subh (Subhadarshi Tripathy) felt they’d be the ideal partner to produce a film of this caliber.”
Sphereorigin was founded by Waddhwa and others in 2002. Dori Media Group has grown to rank among Israel’s largest independent producers since its launch in 1996. The company had its largest slate of offerings — from documentary features and docuseries to game and competition series to scripted dramas — at Mipcom. It produces a wide slate of Spanish-language content for Argentina and other Latin American markets.
(Pictured: A tribute to Capt. Smit Machchhar is crafted out of sand on India’s Puri beach)