There was a time when our film-makers used to shy away from making
official biopics due to various personal and legal reasons attached to it.
Though, there have been numerous films which were highly inspired by real life
characters, but there were few
historical characters based films. The latest to join such type of films is
'Neerja' which is based on the real life happenings of air hostess Neerja
Bhanot, the youngest recipient of India’s highest peacetime military award for
bravery. It is a 2016 Indian thriller film directed by Ram, and stared by Sonam
Kapoor as Neerja. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Neerja won six awards, including
Best Movie, Best Actress (Sonam Kapoor), and Best Supporting Actress (Azmi).
The film is set in Mumbai in the 2014
and 2015s. It was filmed on location in Karachi and in India, in the plane.
The film is about Neerja, who works
as an air hostess for Pan Am airlines. Neerja has been abused by her husband as
she couldn’t cook or clean, so she decided to break off with him and stay with
her parents. As per her routine, she boards Pan Am Flight 73 which gets
hijacked at Karachi Pakistan, armed by Palestinian terrorists.The whole film
narrates the real life happenings which took place inside that flight in the year
1986. At great peril to her own life Neerja
opens the rear door and deploys the chute and begins directing passengers down
the chute (360 passengers).Neerja could have escaped by herself but she chose
to put the passengers first. In the end she is shot by the terrorists when she
tried to shield young children from the gunfire. The film ends with a tributary
message to Neerja who was eventually recognized with bravery awards by India,
Pakistan, USA, and other countries. The question was always going to be, can
Sonam Kapoor, carry off that demanding role and yes she does it in every way!
I strongly recommend Neerja. Obviously,it is one of India's finest hijack based
film presented in a total thrilling and emotional manner.
It has unforgettable soundtrack and the screenplay is swift and
crispy and has been presented in an intriguing, and also narrates the tale of the unsung
hero and deserves to be watched and respected.
