N

eerja Bhanot'€™s life has been retold in the film Neerja. The model-cum-flight attendant exemplifies courage and bravery as she tries to save passengers in an aircraft hijacking.

Neerja is not just any other Hindi movie. It is one of a kind because it is the true story of a Pan Am flight attendant who saved 340 passengers and three pilots from hijackers.

Coming from a typical family, Neerja (Sonam Kapoor) is in her early twenties when her father, Yogendra Tiku (Harish Bhanot) finds her a suitable husband. Following her father'€™s wishes, Neerja marries the man, be he turns out to be cruel. Her father encourages her to be brave and stand up for what is right. She runs away and moves back to her parents'€™ house.

She then takes a job as a flight attendant for Pan Am, and becomes the head purser just a few days before she turns 24. Neerja is loved by everyone. She is an avid fan of Rajesh Khanna and constantly quotes lines from his movies. Her mother, Rama Bhanot (Shabana Azmi) dotes on her.

Two days before her birthday, she is assigned to her first flight as a head purser on Pan Am 73. While she is celebrating with her neighbors and her parents a day before the flight, terrorists are gearing up to hijack the aircraft.

The next morning Neerja is picked up by her boyfriend Jaideep (Shekhar Rajviani) who takes her to the airport. He hands her a birthday gift to be opened only on her birthday. Her colleagues, who see Jaideep, encourage Neerja to marry him. Neerja hugs him before entering the airport.

On the plane, she introduces herself to the pilots as the head purser. Once the passengers are settled in their seats, the plane flies smoothly to Karachi, Pakistan.

Upon landing, terrorists find their way onto the tarmac and enter the plane. Neerja tries to close the door but they manage to get inside. Neerja immediately warns the pilots, who escape through a hatch in the cockpit, removing the possibility of the plane being flown to the terrorists'€™ desired location. One of the terrorists points a gun at Neerja and commands her to hang up the phone.

In the meantime, airport staff negotiate with the terrorists on a replacement for the pilots who escaped. To prove their point, one of the terrorists, Khalil (Jim Sarbh), shoots an American citizen of Indian origin and throws him onto the tarmac. The passengers scream, aghast at the cruelty.

The airport staff, helpless, ask for more time to look for a pilot. A few hours later, the terrorists Khalil and Zayd Safarini (Abrar Zahoor) become agitated; they want to kill a few passengers to prove the seriousness of their intentions.

Neerja overhears their conversation regarding killing an American passenger as it would create a big disturbance. They instruct Neerja to collect all the passengers'€™ passports. While distributing black garbage bags to her colleagues for the passports, she tells them not to put any American passports inside the bags. When Zayd and Khalil go through the passports, they roar in anger because there is not a single American passport. Khalil does a body check on Neerja to see if there are any hidden on her person but he cannot find any.

Frustrated, Khalil finds a UK passport and tells a man near the exit to prepare to be the next victim killed. Despite the terrifying behavior of Zayd and Khalil, who constantly point their weapons at their captives, Neerja fearlessly cajoles them to allow her to provide snacks and drinks to the passengers. For 17 hours the passengers are held inside the airplane as they pray for their future. Neerja finally finds a solution.

Neerja is one of the best Hindi movies ever made. Director Ram Madhvani, through the effective use of flashbacks, perfectly narrates the story of Neerja Bhanot. As one watches the movie, one can understand Neerja'€™s character. Many know Neerja'€™s life story and everyone knows the ending of the film but Madhvani'€™s superb direction keeps the audience spellbound in Neerja and the passengers'€™ close encounter with the terrorists.

Kapoor, who initially lacks emotion, picks up later in the film and brings to life Neerja'€™s character. One can feel the bravery Neerja possesses though she is terrified herself. This is unexpected from Kapoor, whose performances in previous films were lackadaisical in nature.

Azmi'€™s captivating performance as Rama, Neerja'€™s mother, despite being a minor role, gives depth to the film. Her performance in the last part of the film is a tearjerker. The heartwarming and powerful manner of her speech touches the hearts of viewer, making for one of the highlights of the film.

The authoritative Zahoor and Sarbh as the cruel terrorists are very convincing. They have a natural flair for acting and know exactly what they are doing, while jerky shots from the cinematographer help to create a tense mood.

Neerja is hardly a Bollywood dance number, but there is no time for that as the story keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Neerja is not to be missed.