Jan 20, 2018 10:07 PM
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This was a risky film to make. The real-life story took place 30 years ago and many of today's audiences weren't even born then and have no emotional connect to the lead player who was a hero of her time. Since Neerja is based on a true story, the tragic end is also known, so it all depends on how director Ram Madhvani handles the film. And he does it rather well, not counting the BIG HUG to the whole world from Neerja Bhanot's real mother at the beginning and her screen mother's"my beti strongest" speech at the end.
NB, head purser of the Bombay-Karachi-Frankfurt-New York Pan Am flight that was hijacked by four armed Palestinian'terrorists' on September 5, 1986, was given bravery awards by three countries posthumously, including the Ashoka Chakra, for showing exemplary courage and presence of mind that saved the lives of 103 passengers and several crew members.She truly deserves our salutes. She was exceptional. She was special. She was 23.
The film begins by establishing Neerja(Sonam Kapoor) as the life of the party and Rajesh Khanna fan. She has put an abusive marriage behind her, has a flourishing modelling career, loving parents(Shabana Azmi -Yogendra Tiku), a caring boyfriend and a promising career. She is a girl her mother prayed for after two sons, and is a cherished daughter.
The happy family picture is interspersed with the terrorists preparing for the hijack when the plane has a stopover at Karachi.which keeping today's security measures in mind was ridiculously easy.
When the Group of Four strike, the pilots flee and negotiators dither. With remarkable grit and a "military-like" sense of duty, Neerja looks after the passengers, helps rescue most of them and gives up her life to shield three children.
Sonam Kapoor's performance is outstanding;she does not play Neerja as a
Fearless Nadia, she is afraid, she is helpless, but even with a gun to her head, is the only one who functions, as one of the hijackers says. There is no over-the-top bravado and no suspense but the film is engaging in spite of its flaws.
Madhvani has set most of the'action' on board the airplane and one can admire the realism in production design and the handheld camerawork. Agreed that NB's life itself is emotionally explosive material and we are moved by it even before we have entered the hall. Showing remarkable restraint, It is to the director's credit that the film leaves us with a lump in our throats and a sense of pride that an Indian girl could stand up to armed militants
