

Neerja quickly alerts the cockpit, without the terrorists knowing, and the three American pilots escape through the overhead hatch, fleeing to the terminal under fire from the hijackers.

The plane takes off from Mumbai's Sahar International Airport and lands in Karachi's Jinnah Airport, where the four Abu Nidal terrorists, disguised as security officers escorting a Libyan diplomat, hijack the plane.

Neerja left Naresh and landed a job with Pan Am Airways.Īs Neerja boards Pan Am 73, it is meanwhile revealed that the Abu Nidal organisation, a Libyan-sponsored Palestinian terrorist group, plans to hijack the plane in Karachi. Naresh sent her parents a letter complaining about the dowry and their daughter's lack of domestic skills, demanding that Neerja either bring back the money or not return it at all. She eventually returned home for a modelling contract.
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She is driven to the airport by her friend Jaideep.ĭuring the flight, Neerja reflects on her brief, unhappy arranged marriage to Naresh, a professional in Doha, Qatar, who abused her over her small dowry and inability to perform household work. Her mother, Rama, expresses concern about Neerja's job as a flight attendant, suggesting that Neerja should return to her old modelling career. PlotĢ2-year-old Neerja Bhanot arrives late for a house party one evening. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Neerja won six awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actress (Critics) for Kapoor, and Best Supporting Actress for Azmi. It won two awards at the 64th National Film Awards including Best Feature Film in Hindi and Special Mention for Kapoor. The film received a number of accolades at Bollywood award organisations, with particular praise for Kapoor's performance and Madhvani's direction. The film grossed ₹135.52 crore (US$18 million) at the box office. Neerja was released on 19 February 2016 to critical acclaim, and became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films featuring a female protagonist. The film features music by Vishal Khurana, with lyrics written by Prasoon Joshi. Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla worked on the script, with principal photography taking place in Mumbai. The film is shown from the point of view of head purser of the flight, Neerja Bhanot, who thwarted the hijack attempt by alerting the pilots, thus grounding the plane Bhanot died trying to help save 359 of the 379 passengers and crew on board.ĭevelopment began in September 2014, when Kasbekar signed Madhvani and Kapoor for a film to be made by Bling Unplugged and Fox Star Studios. The plot is based on a real-life event: the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan by Libyan-backed Abu Nidal Organization on 5 September 1986. The film features Sonam Kapoor as the title character with Shekhar Ravjiani, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tiku, Kavi Shastri and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles. It was produced by Atul Kasbekar's company, Bling Unplugged, alongside Fox Star Studios. Strong support from a veteran cast makes ‘Neerja’ a rewarding and emotional watch.Neerja is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical thriller film directed by Ram Madhvani and written by Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh. Sonam Kapoor, daughter of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ quizmaster Anil Kapoor, proves at last that she is more than just a pretty star-kid, delivering a career-defining performance as the vulnerable but composed protagonist. With the exception of a song and dance sequence and the characterisation of the lead terrorist, which veers close to standard-issue baddie, it's efficiently and movingly told.

Neerja herself was not so lucky.ĭirector Ram Madhvani cuts from the action to flashbacks fleshing out Neerja’s relatively happy personal life. The stand-off lasted for over 17 hours during which Neerja was instrumental in helping the majority of passengers escape alive. The pilots evacuated (as per their training, to avoid being coerced to fly), leaving 22 year-old flight attendant Neerja to safeguard 361 passengers on board from the gunmen. Based on a real-life tragic incident, it’s relatively short (at 121 minutes) and tells the story of Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor), the head stewardess of Pan Am Flight 73, which was hijacked by a Palestinian terrorist group while on the ground at Karachi airport in September 1986. Bollywood springs a welcome surprise on us with this taunt thriller largely devoid of the trappings of the ‘masala’ formula.
