SPOILER ALERT!
ORDINARY YET EXTRAORDINARY
I first came across the name ‘Neerja Bhanot’ sometime in the early ’90s when Graphiti, the Sunday magazine from The Telegraph, had done a cover story on her. Neerja’s picture on the cover was arresting, the story inside even more — it focused on Neerja’s mother Rama Bhanot’s claims of having established a form of ‘written communication’ with her dead daughter — but what intrigued me most was Neerja: the braveheart flight purser who had put her life on the line for 359 hijacked passengers — all strangers to her — and had stared death in the face before succumbing to it. If there was a story that needed to be told over and over again, it was Neerja’s.
Because Neerja is a woman who could have been any one of us — a seemingly ordinary girl who, in the face of an extraordinary situation, stood up alone for what she believed was the right thing to do. Two days short of turning 23, this young woman — an ardent fan of Rajesh Khanna and the life of any party — became an unlikely hero, giving up her life for her duty. As she tells one of the sneering hijackers who objects to her serving water to the distressed passengers: “Sir, I am just doing my job.”
What I liked best about Neerja is that it’s not just a hijack drama, but a story of a woman’s resilience — against an abusive marriage, against a society that wants to put her in a box and define every breath and move… and ultimately against a bunch of gun-toting terrorists. Neerja doesn’t need to put on a superhero suit to become a shero… her inner strength, the principles she believes in and the lessons she’s learned from a bad marriage are enough to make her put everyone else’s lives before her own. And when she takes on the hijackers, it’s done with a quiet and dignified strength, showing a wisdom that no ordinary 23-year-old would be able to muster in a situation as extreme as this.
And yet Neerja is ordinary… ordinary enough to sleep clutching a soft toy, ordinary enough to giggle her way through a family dinner, ordinary enough to play a prank on an unsuspecting neighbour.
It’s her story that’s inspirational and that’s where Neerja’s greatest strength lies — in making generations of women both identify with her and yet be in awe of her. #Respect
Priyanka Roy
A FIGHTER AND A FRIEND
Farah Khan tweeted saying Tabu had finished a box of tissues while watching Neerja and I thought that was pure exaggeration. I knew the story was moving, but then I thought Sonam Kapoor as Neerja was probably #epicfail. So I went to watch the movie thinking I would never shed a tear in a Sonam flick but I was wrong.
I came out weeping as if Neerja was my friend. The movie moved me deeply and made me realise that it is okay to get scared and cry, but the choice of standing up and putting up a brave face is mine. It taught me how one should never lose cool or give up hope in the worst possible circumstances, but instead should stay calm and think. For simple common sense can often save the day.
Neerja was a fighter and I loved how she never got bogged down by domestic violence. The other high point of the film is that it’s not melodramatic. Neerja knew she was dying but that little ‘Pushpa I hate tears’ message won my heart.
Yes, Sonam made me cry for the first time.
Pramita Ghosh
BAHADUR BACHCHA KAUN? MAIN
“I don’t know how my daughter turned out to be this brave. Like other mothers I told her to be accepting, to avert her eyes and walk and to keep herself safe, and save her life if she was in trouble. Isn’t that what we tell our daughters?” Shabana Azmi’s (as Rama Bhanot) words at the commemoration of Neerja’s death was what hit me the hardest, especially when that daughter went on to perform an act of incredible bravery.
How many times have our own parents told us to put our safety first and not take risks and how many times has the thought of self-preservation prevented us from stepping in to help other people? God forbid, we perhaps will never be in Neerja’s situation, but what we can learn from her is not just bravery but the human spirit and kindness that led to the brave act of giving up her own life to protect innocent children. She carried out her duty not just as an airhostess but also as a human being. I’ve come away from the film in awe of the 23-year-old girl, who showed tremendous courage, and with renewed determination to keep standing up against what is wrong. I came away hoping that I can be five per cent as brave as her and that when someone asks “bahadur bachcha kaun?” I can answer with “main”.
Chandreyee Chatterjee
MAKES YOUR SPIRIT SOAR AND YOUR HEART WEEP
A few weeks back, I was in a situation of fear and panic, when I found myself alone and vulnerable in front of a man who clearly had harm on his mind. The danger was momentary for I was able to get away quickly but I can still taste that moment of wild, paralysing panic inside me when I think of that day. What Neerja Bhanot must have felt on that aircraft was that multiplied by a thousand. And more. And she had not just herself to save but a whole planeful of passengers and crew. While watching Neerja, what gave me gooseflesh was the realisation that a Bollywood heroine may be standing up to menacing hijackers on screen, but it was an actual person, a 23-year-old girl, who faced these terrifying moments and overcame the fear and panic to save over 350 lives.
Neerja is the kind of cinema that makes your spirit soar even as your heart weeps. More than Sonam Kapoor as Neerja, it was Shabana Azmi as Neerja’s mother Rama that made this film so real. And what fills me with hope is that Indian cinema has matured enough to tell extraordinary stories of ordinary people, be it Manjhi: The Mountain Man, Airlift or Neerja.
Neerja’s story, for me, is of course about courage and humanity but also about the call of duty. A simple thought that can make all the difference between a selfish world and a caring, loving one.
Samhita Chakraborty
