I was about to review another movie for this week but on hearing the amazing news of Neerja getting national awards filled my heart with happiness and so I decided to take this amazing movie for this week's review.
In a world hijacked by extremists, one girl dared to stand up against them to win and HOW! This girl was Neerja. A girl who fought for the right, who fought for her people and most importantly she fought for the nation. It is a bit unfortunate that we took so long to bring Neerja Bhanots story to a commercial medium. Her story should be in history books, libraries, schools, everywhere and not just confined to the medium of films. India has a lot of unforgotten heroes and their stories needs to be told. Hats off to makers of Neerja for bringing her story to life in such an Impactful way. This is a very important film on numerous basis not just for the sake of commercial and critical grounds.
Neerja (Sonam Kapoor) is the story of a 22 year old happy fun loving girl who is an airhostess by profession but also does modelling as a part time job. Her life is not exactly perfect as she has been through an abusive marriage. But her family (Mother - Shabana Azmi Father - Yoginder Tiku, her brothers) and her current lover (Shekhar Ravjiani ) pampers her enough to lead a steady life. Thrilled to participate in her first flight as the Head Purser, Neerja sets out for her journey wishing goodbye to her loved ones only to return for her birthday which was just few days away.
Neerja welcomes her passengers and everything seems so calm and peaceful on the flight. But all hell breaks loose when a terrorist group from Abu Nidal organization hijacks the plane at Karachi. With 300+ passengers in the flight with the security collapsed, what would happen to all those innocent people that can do nothing except welcoming death in horror? I, you or anyone at this point can only imagine. But Neerja was not the one to lost hope. With her intelligence and courage, she manages to do the impossible. Rest is for you to watch and experience. Anything to give away from here shall be doing Injustice to the plot.
Now coming to script of the film which is always the base, it is outstanding. Making a biographical film is itself tricky and even a small inaccuracy can cause a major blunder to the plot but writer Saiwyn Quadras makes sure that the story comes alive with dignity and compassion. And Director Ram Madhvani has already proved that he is one of the best from his field. The terror, the violence, the overall environment in the film was depicted with such conviction that you are forced to hold your breathe a couple of times within the screening.
As for the technical part, it is superb all the way. Mitesh Mirchandanis cinematography is class apart. Watch the sequences where the terrorists jump on to the plane to hijack it. The handheld cameras that follow then, defines the nail biting situation with tension and Impact. Editing by Monisha R Baldawa is efficient. Music by Vishal Khurana is amazing. All tracks are marvelously composed but special mention to the obvious Jeete hain Chal by Kavitha Seth. It is such an Inspirational number that whenever hearing it, you can actually feel Neerja Bhanots spirit coming alive.
And finally the performances, there is no denial that Sonam Kapoor has given an exceptional performance. Believe me! I was not much of a huge admirer of her films but Neerja just changed my perception about her. She brings every emotion of Neerjas life to screen by striking every right note. Yes, there were a few instances that could have been better but overall, she lives it in a way that you would not find time for any nitpicking. Shabana Azmi ji is as always a legendary performer. Only she could do perfect justice to Rama Bhanots role. Her speech scene can melt the hardest rock to tears. Also Yoginder Tiku does an amazing job as Neerjas Father. Shekhar Ravijani is fair.
But the real surprise here is Jim Sarbh who plays Khalil. What a performer seriously! Deadly, fierce, Dangerous, menacing, he is the synonym of the word terror! He wants to assure you that there is no escape from his wrath but too bad for his character; his motives were smashed by a courageous Indian girl. All the other supporting actors lend great support. Even the actors with very short roles like the passengers, pilots, officials, air hostesses compliment the film very nicely. Full marks again here to the Captain of the ship " Mr Ram.
Any hiccups? Not really, just the song in the second half seems a bit forced. Although it is understandable that the makers are trying to portray the emotions between mother and daughter, somehow it breaks the flow of the tight narration and the grip of film which is at its nail biting joint. But that is just a minor edge, the film is fantastic from the word go. To be very frank, I was not expecting this film to be a hit considering the films subject to tackle Indian commercial box office which does not lap such kind of films easily.
But to my surprise, the audiences loved the film and it became both a commercial and a critical success. To conclude this review, I just want to say that Neerja is more just a film. In a world where we hear stories about losing humanity, this girl sacrificed her young life for the nation and people. Neerja was about to celebrate her birthday if everything had went well. She was just 22. What sort of courage and thoughts filled her mind at that time where she did not care for own life. There were accounts which tell that Neerja could have saved herself but she did not. She instead saved others. What kind of force had been inspiring Neerja? We would never know. But by the attempt of this wonderful film, we get atleast a respectable tribute to the lady that defined courage in every breathe of hers.
Huge Salutations! Long Live Neerja Bhanot !
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Veer Hanuman
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