Neerja
Neerja Cast & Crew:
Banner
Fox Star Studios
Bling Unplugged
Status
Released
Release Date
19 Feb 2016
Genre
Drama
Producer
Atul Kasbekar
Star Cast
Sonam Kapoor.... Neerja Bhanot
Shabana Azmi.... Rama Bhanot
Shekhar Ravjiani.... Jaideep
Yogendra Tikku.... Harish Bhanot
Kavi Shastri.... Naresh
Shashi Bhushan.... Imran Ali
Deepak Shah.... Brigadier
Jim Sarbh.... Khalil
Abrar Zahoor.... Safirini
Vikrant Singta.... Fahad
Ali Baldiwala.... Mansoor
Ismail Mohammad Mirza.... Al Turk
Sushil Tyagi.... Inzamam Younis
Nikhil Sangha.... Akhil Bhanot
Arjun Aneja.... Aneesh Bhanot
Meghana Kaushik.... Sanjana
Eisha Chopra.... Debina
Sunanda Wong.... Tina
Anjali Khurana.... Dolly
Aarush Rana.... Jatin Desai
Story / Writers
Saiwyn Quadras
Background Music
Vishal Khurana
Censor Details:
Censor Dates
2 Feb 2016
Censor Certificate No
DIL/1/18/2016
Runtime
122 Minutes
Certification
U
Reels
Not Available.
Length in metres
0.0
Music Director
Vishal Khurana
Color
C
Language
Hindi
Director
Ram Madhwani
Singers
Kavita Seth
Arun Ingle
Archana Gore
Pragati Mukund Joshi
Mayuri Patwardhan
Mandar Apte
R. N. Iyer
Lyricist
Prasoon Joshi
Cinematography
Mitesh Mirchandani
Production Designers
Aparna Sud
Action
Manohar Verma
Dialogue
Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla
Shooting Location(City & Country)
India
Music Company
T-Series
Storyline:
Neerja is a portrayal on the life of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. The flight was hijacked by a terrorist organization.
User Reviews
A well done tribute on Neerja Bhanot
19 February 2016
I am glad that a movie was made(an inspiration) on the life of the late Neerja Bhanot. Frankly, if not for the movie, I'd not have known(like many of us) or be reminded about the brave air hostess or the Pan Am hijacking. So, the effort behind this cinema has to be applauded. Besides releasing this tribute, the noteworthy achievement of the movie has been the construction of the hijacked plane(looks amazingly convincing on screen), the music, the edge of the seat tension and the heartwarming mother-daughter relationship.
Although the film has its share of flaws(including the weak final moments in the plane), it's a work that's to be appreciated for the attempt to show us what it must have been like for a young lady to make split second decisions to save hundreds of lives under extreme circumstances. The movie can provoke you to think how you'd have reacted(as a passenger or staff) in such a situation and if you'd have been as daring or defiant.
Talking about the performances, although Sonam Kapoor got a great role, the greater performance came from Shabana Azmi as her mother. She was simply stellar and probably the highlight of her role is at the end, when she speaks about her daughter. The speech is a heart wringer. Talking about Neerja the character, to essay it is like once in a lifetime opportunity even among the best & brightest in Bollywood(the casting team surely didn't search beyond Bollywood names). Indeed Sonam Kapoor is talented but still very young. They say an actor is only as good as a director who directs him or her and I felt, Sonam could have been guided better especially in some of the do or die, emotionally draining scenes which could have been a struggle even among industry veterans. It was like asking her to do a Picasso or Michaelangelo painting and expect the work to be as good as the original! Even so, given the responsibility & importance of the role, Sonam does exceedingly well but her finest yet as an actor? Maybe but hope to see better. But she has proudly proved here what she is capable of. And now, let me humbly say, the actor who truly steals the show in Neerja is Jim Sarbh as one of the terrorists Khalil. A brilliantly crazy, maniacal performance!
Where did I think the movie is a let down? For one, like I said, the movie makers failed Sonam Kapoor especially in few very difficult to do scenes where she could have been guided better(and also with some of the child actors). And then I was disappointed with how the climax moments in the hijack were shot, specifically the camera angles. I can't tell more really without it being a spoiler. Another scene is when Khalil pins Sonam to the wall demanding for the American passports
