STORY -
Neerja tells the story of a martyr who sacrificed herself to save 359 lives & went onto become an inspiration to million others. The story focuses on the last two days of Neerja's life & the events which transformed her to become a hero.
Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor) is the youngest daughter of Rama (Shabana Azmi) who has to leave home for work 2 days before her birthday on 7th September. She's the head purser for PAN AM 73 flight carrying 379 passengers to New York via Karachi. A die-heart Rajesh Khanna fan, she's also a well known face thanks to her modelling career. Despite her successful modelling career, she's happy being an air hostess. While she bids goodbye to her loved ones, in Karachi, a group of Libyan terrorists are preparing themselves to hijack the plane in order to demand a release of a terrorist. While the story moves back & forth firmly establishing the scenes from both angles (Neerja's as well as Libyan terrorists), the mood is effectively set. How does one react an unthinkable situation they're forcefully put in? How does Neerja stands out from rest of the people? How could Neerja be that strong at that moment? What did she go through in those hard times? To know all this, watch the movie.
Plusses -
1. Terrific pace of the film. No boring moments.
2. Brilliant performances by everyone.
3. Stupendous direction by Ram Madhvani.
4. Once the hijack happens, there's no stopping. You will not be able to take off your eyes from the screen.
5. A story which must be told.
6. Beauty of the screenplay lies in the fact that all of us no what's going to happen in the end, still effective narration makes us want a fictional ending just to see our hero alive.
Scenes that touched hearts as well as gave goosebumps -
1. The effective mix of scenes - both terrorist attack as well as Neerja's abusive marriage. So nicely used to depict how strong her character has evolved into.
2. The scene where Neerja (Sonam) is holding onto the kids while they say "We want to go to our mom" & she replies "Me too".
3. Zindagi lambi nahi, badi honi chahiye.
4. The scene when Rama (Shabana) is informed about the hijack by her husband & how she tells him to stay strong.
5. The whole hijack episode... goosebumps guaranteed.
6. Such high performance from the actors who played terrorists... Khalil, man oh man... his outburst is so scary that even other terrorists stay afraid of him. That whole scene, kudos to the actor as normally in such films nobody really care to notice the terrorists as the sides are already been chosen.
7. Sonam Kapoor in 3 different scenes - why not mentioning them individually? Because the purpose of these 3 scenes is to show her get control of herself & evolve stronger.
8. The entire climax, completely ruled by Shabana Azmi. The legend shows why she is one. Just her eyes.
9. Pushpa, I hate tears.
10. And the end credits where a bunch of real photographs of Neerja Bhanot is shown. The real Indian daughter. Standing ovation guaranteed.
Special Mention to the Performances -
This is a role of a lifetime for Sonam Kapoor. What you see is not Sonam instead she makes us believe that she's infact NEERJA. The powerful actress in Sonam Kapoor got unleashed big time. Salute to Shabana Azmi. Terrific performance. It's these two actresses who have made sure justice is done to the real story. Can't imagine any other actress in their place.
A bit of concern on why Pakistan banned this film -
This is definitely the most shocking decision by Pakistan film chamber. The film depicts Libyan terrorists hijacking the plane & if Neerja is doing her part inside the plane, it's the Pakistani officials & the army that do their honest work to save everyone. There were multiple scenes showing honest Pakistani officials plus it's Libyan terrorists for heaven's sake. Lastly, even Pakistan gave Neerja a bravery award, it's Pakistan that sentenced the 4 terrorists to death initially, later to be changed to lifetime imprisonment. Don't understand what made them hesitate in letting this story to be told in their country.
My Rating - 4/5
Final Words - Don't you dare to miss this flight. The head purser is gonna leave a lifelong impact on you.
