Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

Ram Madhvani Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director and producer known for his award-winning works in Hindi cinema, in the OTT space and in advertising. He is a-partner, director, and producer at Equinox Films, Ram Madhvani Films, and Equinox Virtual in par ...

Atul Kasbekar Atul Kasbekar (born 22 April 1965) is an Indian fashion photographer and Bollywood film producer. He is recognised for his Kingfisher Calendar shoots.Shalini ShahSees, shoots and leaves ''The Hindu'', 23 December 2011, Retrieved 12 January 2012. ...

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

Yogendra Tiku Yogendra Tiku (born 25 July) is an Indian film, television and stage actor, born and brought up at Prayagraj. He has been successful in entertainment industries including theater plays, TV serials and Bollywood movies, like ''No One Killed Jess ...

Kavi Shastri Kavi Shastri (born 19 February 1986 in London) is a British film and television actor. Early life and education Kavi Shastri was born into a Gujarati family in London, England.Jim Sarbh in supporting roles. The plot is based on a real-life event: the attempted

hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

of

Pan Am Flight 73 Pan Am Flight 73 was a Pan American World Airways flight from Bombay, India, to New York, United States with scheduled stops in Karachi, Pakistan and Frankfurt, West Germany. On September 5, 1986, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight was hija ...

in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan by Libyan-backed Abu Nidal Organization on 5 September 1986. The film is shown from the point of view of head purser of the flight,

Neerja Bhanot Neerja Bhanot (7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986) was an Indian purser who died while saving passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 which had been hijacked by terrorists from a terrorist organization during a stopover in Karachi, Pakistan, ...

, who thwarted the hijack attempt by alerting the pilots, thus grounding the plane. Bhanot died trying to help save the passengers and crew, of whom 359 of the 379 on board survived. Development began in September 2014, when Kasbekar signed Madhvani and Kapoor for a film to be made by Bling Unplugged and Fox Star Studios. Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla worked on the script, with principal photography taking place in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. The film features music by Vishal Khurana, with lyrics written by

Prasoon Joshi Prasoon Joshi (born 16 September 1971) is an Indian poet, writer, lyricist, screenwriter, and communication specialist and marketer. He is the CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman APAC (Asia Pacific), a subsidiary of the global mar ...

. ''Neerja'' was released on 19 February 2016 to critical acclaim, and became one of the highest-grossing

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

films featuring a female protagonist. The film grossed at the box office. The film received high critical acclaim and numerous accolades from Bollywood award organisations, with particular praise for Kapoor's performance and Madhvani's direction. It won 2 awards at the

64th National Film Awards The 64th National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2016 in the Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 7 April 2017, and ...

- Best Feature Film in Hindi and

Special Mention Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

(Kapoor). At the

62nd Filmfare Awards The 62nd Filmfare Awards ceremony, presented by the Filmfare magazine, honored the best Hindi language Indian films of 2016. The ceremony was held on 14 January 2017 and was co-hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar and Kapil Sharma. ''Ae Dil ...

, ''Neerja'' received 8 nominations, including

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and Best Director (Madhvani), and won a leading 6 awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actress (Critics) (Kapoor), and Best Supporting Actress (Azmi).

Plot

22-year-old

Neerja Bhanot Neerja Bhanot (7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986) was an Indian purser who died while saving passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 which had been hijacked by terrorists from a terrorist organization during a stopover in Karachi, Pakistan, ...

arrives late for a house party one evening. Her mother, Rama, expresses concern about Neerja's job as a flight attendant, suggesting that Neerja should return to her old modelling career. Neerja insists on keeping her job. She is driven to the airport by her friend Jaideep. During the flight, Neerja reflects on her brief, unhappy arranged marriage to Naresh, a professional in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...

,

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, who abused her over her small dowry and inability to perform household work. She eventually returned home for a modelling contract. 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. Neerja left Naresh and landed a job with Pan Am Airways. As Neerja boards

Pan Am 73 Pan Am Flight 73 was a Pan American World Airways flight from Bombay, India, to New York, United States with scheduled stops in Karachi, Pakistan and Frankfurt, West Germany. On September 5, 1986, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight was ...

, it is meanwhile revealed that the

Abu Nidal Sabri Khalil al-Banna (May 1937 – 16 August 2002), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Nidal, was the founder of Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, a militant Palestinian splinter group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization ...

organisation, a Libyan-sponsored Palestinian

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

group, plans to hijack the plane in Karachi. The plane takes off from Mumbai's

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic a ...

and lands in Karachi's

Jinnah International Airport Jinnah International Airport ( ur, جناح بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا) , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi Civil Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017 ...

, where the four Abu Nidal terrorists, disguised as security officers escorting a Libyan diplomat, hijack the plane. 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 American pilots had just enough time to escape, as the hijackers did not realise that the cockpit of a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...

is located upstairs. When a Kenyan-born

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

passenger reveals himself as an American, one of the terrorists murders him and dumps his body off the aircraft in front of the Pakistani negotiators. The terrorists try to locate a radio engineer among the passengers by ordering Neerja to make an announcement over the intercom. When Imran Ali, a Pakistani radio engineer, begins to stand up, Neerja signals for him to sit down. The terrorists have the flight attendants collect all passports to identify the American passengers and hold them hostage; Neerja and her colleagues collect the passports, disposing of any American passports by throwing them down trash chutes or hiding them under seats. Dejected over not finding any American passports, the hijackers instead take a British passenger hostage. The Pakistani negotiators inadvertently reveal the name of radio engineer Ali, whom the hijackers bring to the cockpit to use the radio for negotiations. Meanwhile, the Pakistani authorities try to stall for time. When a younger terrorist assaults the passengers and molests the attendants, the terrorist leader chastises him; humiliated, the younger terrorist storms into the cockpit and shoots Ali, screaming wild threats over the radio. While negotiations with the Pakistani air controllers drag on, the negotiators slowly lose control of the situation, with the hijackers becoming more agitated by the minute. Meanwhile, Neerja, who had her birthday 2 days later, had an envelope and when she has kept away from other passengers, opens that envelope given to her by Jaideep, her friend, which was his love confession and a cookie, Neerja reads that and eats that cookie which symbolizes her acceptance of his love, but on a little sad note Jaideep never gets to know that she has accepted his love. Around 17 hours later, the plane loses auxiliary power, and the lights go out inside the plane. Despite Neerja and the other attendants' attempts to explain, the terrorists assume the Pakistanis cut the power deliberately, and anticipate an imminent Pakistani raid on the plane. The panicking hijackers begin shooting down passengers indiscriminately; at great peril to her own life, Neerja opens the emergency exit door and deploys the chute, directing passengers out of the plane. Choosing to let the passengers escape first, Neerja is shot three times by a terrorist as she tries to shield three young children from the gunfire. The children escape the plane, and Neerja then drags herself out of the doorway and down the emergency slide before dying. The Special Service Group storms the plane and kills all the terrorists. The film ends with a tribute to Neerja, who was eventually honoured posthumously with the

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

, India's highest military decoration awarded for peacetime valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice.

Cast

* Sonam Kapoor as

Neerja Bhanot Neerja Bhanot (7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986) was an Indian purser who died while saving passengers on Pan Am Flight 73 which had been hijacked by terrorists from a terrorist organization during a stopover in Karachi, Pakistan, ...

. In an interview with IBT, Kapoor describes her character and explains, "Neerja is an extremely principled girl with the most amazing characteristics. She had the presence of mind, the compassion, and the kindness to take care of other people and not herself." * Shekhar Ravjiani as Jaideep, Neerja's love interest *

Yogendra Tiku Yogendra Tiku (born 25 July) is an Indian film, television and stage actor, born and brought up at Prayagraj. He has been successful in entertainment industries including theater plays, TV serials and Bollywood movies, like ''No One Killed Jess ...

as Harish Bhanot, Neerja's father *

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

as Rama Bhanot, Neerja's mother *

Kavi Shastri Kavi Shastri (born 19 February 1986 in London) is a British film and television actor. Early life and education Kavi Shastri was born into a Gujarati family in London, England.Ali Baldiwala as Mansoor, one of the terrorists * Vikrant Singta as Fahad, one of the terrorists * Abrar Zahoor as Zayd Safirini, one of the terrorists * Jim Sarbh as Khalil, one of the terrorists * Manya Chopra as Bhavika Desai * Shaurya Chopra as Shaurya Desai * Aarush Rana as Jatin Desai * Anjali Khurana as Dolly * Sunanda Wong as Tina * Eisha Chopra as Debina * Meghana Kaushik as Sanjana * Arjun Aneja as Aneesh Bhanot, Neerja's brother **

Arjun Kapoor Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor working in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producer Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with romance ''Ishaqzaade'' which ...

as an infant Aneesh Bhanot (Archive appearance) * Nikhil Sangha as Akhil Bhanot, Neerja's brother * Ismail Mohammed Mirza as Al Turk * Shashi Bhushan as radio engineer Emran Ali (based on Meherjee Kharas) * Deepak Shah as brigadier * Sushil Tyagi as Inzamam Younis * Prashantt Guptha as Rahul Kumar * Alex Kozyrev as Ronnie Huston (based on Michael John Thexton) ''Source'':

Production

Development and pre-production

Pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content start ...

work on ''Neerja'' began in September 2014, when the film's executive producer Atul Kasbekar said that his company, Bling Unplugged, would co-produce

Ram Madhvani Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director and producer known for his award-winning works in Hindi cinema, in the OTT space and in advertising. He is a-partner, director, and producer at Equinox Films, Ram Madhvani Films, and Equinox Virtual in par ...

's film along with Fox Star Studios. Kasbekar later tweeted, "Do U Know Who Neerja Bhanot Is? No? Well U Really Really Should...". He said, "For us .. a story of courage as exceptional as Neerja's simply deserved to be told. We just decided that we would do our bit to ensure that India would remember one of its great heroines." The film's script and screenplay were penned by Saiwyn Quadras, and the dialogue was written by Sanyuktha Chawla Sheikh. The director of photography for the film was the cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani, who had been previously associated with 2012 film ''

Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana ''Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language comedy film produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Anurag Kashyap and directed by debutante Sameer Sharma. Plot Omi Khurana's London dream has just ended. On the r ...

''. The editing for the film was done by Monisha R Baldawa and Manohar Verma served as the stunt director for the film. Kapoor was contracted by Kasbekar to play Neerja Bhanot, the senior flight crew member. On receiving the role of Neerja in the film, Kapoor told

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including a ...

, "I thought doing this film just reaffirms that it is about not bowing down. It is an inspiring story for me to do. I am blessed." It was reported in May 2015 that Shekhar Ravjiani, one half of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

's performing/producing duo

Vishal–Shekhar Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...

, would play a short role in the movie, marking his acting debut.

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

played the role of Neerja's mother Rama Bhanot in the film. In an interview with ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'', Azmi describes her character and explains, "It was very difficult to play her, particularly the last scene where Rama addresses an audience. It is an extremely well-written emotional scene, which does complete justice to the moment."

Filming and post-production

Principal photography of the film commenced 19 April 2015 in Mumbai. After two months of filming, the shooting was wrapped up on 19 June 2015. Kasbekar tweeted, "Amazing! And it's a wrap on ''Neerja'' !!! 32 shooting days!!! That's Two More days than Birdman took!" During the principal photography of the film, many Bollywood celebrities visited the film's sets, including

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...

, Boman Irani,

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

, and Raju Hirani. "I knew that getting Aamir Khan, Boman Irani, Vidya Balan, Raju Hirani and Anil Kapoor to speak to the 220 cast would help instill dedication and effort that this film would require," director Madhvani said in a statement. During production, the actors playing the crew and the passengers of the flight were put in separate hotels from the actors portraying the hijackers and ate their meals separately, ostensibly to create an air of antagonism in the film between the two groups. This element was applied earlier to the 2006 film United 93. The makers of the film acknowledged the responsibility of portraying the story. One challenge faced was acquiring an actual Boeing 747 for shooting. Director Ram Madhvani and Rucha Pathak initially thought of shooting in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

, UAE or the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

due to the convenience of leasing a retired 747 but later decided to re-create the plane because a major part of the film required shooting against the plane backdrop. The plane set took 48 days to built and closely resembled the actual aircraft. The film's

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

(VFX) were by Tata Elxsi. VCL produced a wide range of visual effects, including the creation of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

airport and buildings, and also helped in creating the 1986 period restoration for various locations.

Music

The film's soundtrack is composed by Vishal Khurana with lyrics written by

Prasoon Joshi Prasoon Joshi (born 16 September 1971) is an Indian poet, writer, lyricist, screenwriter, and communication specialist and marketer. He is the CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman APAC (Asia Pacific), a subsidiary of the global mar ...

. The first song from the film, "Jeete Hain Chal", was released by

Ram Madhvani Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director and producer known for his award-winning works in Hindi cinema, in the OTT space and in advertising. He is a-partner, director, and producer at Equinox Films, Ram Madhvani Films, and Equinox Virtual in par ...

, Sonam Kapoor and Prasoon Joshi at a launch event held on 1 February 2016 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. The entire soundtrack album was released digitally by T-Series on 5 February 2016. The soundtrack received a positive critical response. Mohar Basu of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

'' gave the music a 3.5 out of 5 ratings, saying that it "is beautiful, pensive, touching and all of it sans melodrama," and that it "is straight from the soul." Joginder Tuteja of

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...

said that "the songs of the film heard are strictly functional and won't really be into play once the film is through." He added that the songs "Aankhein Milayenge Darr Se" and "Gehra Ishq" would make the most impression. A critic of ''The Quint'' praised the music album and said, "The brilliance of this album is that it features songs which will not hijack and/or disrupt the flow of the narrative. The sound is delicate, fearless, vulnerable and always intimate."

Release

Sonam Kapoor graces 'Neerja' screening for the crew of Indigo airlines

The film had a special screening on 16 February 2016 in Mumbai, which was attended by celebrities, including filmmaker

Karan Johar Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several su ...

;

Subhash Ghai Subhash may refer to: People * Subhash Agarwal, Indian professional player and coach of English billiards and snooker * Subhash Awchat (born 1960), Indian artist and author based in Mumbai * Subhash Bapurao Wankhede (born 1963), Indian politician ...

; Kapoor's father,

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

;

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

;

Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox . He has won 7 Player of ...

;

Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ ; born 10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the grea ...

; Ayushmann Khurrana; and Amit Sadh. The film received a positive response from many Bollywood celebrities, with Tendulkar calling Neerja Bhanot a "Braveheart" and saying that "the people should definitely watch the film." The film was released worldwide, in approximately 671 theatres, on 19 February 2016. Upon release, ''Neerja'' received positive reviews, with praise directed to Kapoor's performance, and was a huge box office success. The film was also praised by Delhi's Chief Minister,

Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: �ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...

, who tweeted that the film's message was, "Live for others, die for others." The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films featuring a female protagonist. ''Neerja'' was banned in Pakistan since the film shows Pakistan in a negative light. The

Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

(CBFC) maintained that the film should not be considered "banned" in Pakistan because it was not submitted to them.

Tax-free

The film was declared tax-free by

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisl ...

and the

Government of Madhya Pradesh Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executiv ...

. The Finance Minister, Jayant Kumar Malaiya, said, "The movies ''Neerja'' and ''

Jai Gangaajal ''Jai Gangaajal'' () is a 2016 Indian crime drama film directed by Prakash Jha. It is a follow-up to the 2003 crime film ''Gangaajal'', and stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role with Jha appearing in a supporting role. It also features Manav ...

'' will be free from entertainment tax in Madhya Pradesh on account of International Women's Day which was celebrated yesterday." Producer Kasbekar, replied on Twitter, "Big thank you to MP

Poonam Mahajan Poonam Mahajan (born 9 December 1980) is an Indian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mumbai North Central, Constituency, Maharashtra. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She has served as the ...

and the Hon CM Devendra Fadnavis in declaring ''Neerja'' tax free in Maharashtra. Quick and decisive decision."

Reception

Box office

India

On its first day, the film earned about net, much of it from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

and Delhi NCR. It collected net on Saturday and on Sunday, with a weekend total of . On Monday, the film netted around , with only around a 20% drop in revenue compared to first day. On Tuesday, the film earned around . The film's Wednesday, Thursday and Friday earnings were , , and , respectively. On Saturday and Sunday, ''Neerja'' had a massive jump and earned and respectively, for a total collection of at the box office. On the 11th day (Monday), ''Neerja'' collected ; on Tuesday; on Wednesday; and on Thursday. By the end of its 38-day run, the film had grossed an estimated domestically and internationally, for an approximate worldwide total of .

Overseas

''Neerja'' opened strong, collecting in foreign theatres. The film had the highest opening weekend for a female-led film in the US and Middle East; in the UK, it had the second-highest opening weekend of 2016.

Critical response

Upon release, the film, as well as Sonam Ahuja's performance, received praise from film critics around the world. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 100%, based on 9 reviews with an average rating of 8/10. Shubha Shetty-Saha of ''

Mid-Day ''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions wer ...

'' gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "a deeply moving experience", and writing for Kapoor deemed it as "her best performance till date". Meena Iyer of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

'' gave ''Neerja'' 4 out of 5 stars and said, "''Neerja'' raises a toast to the daunting spirit of India's daughters; every one of us must salute Neerja."

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provide ...

gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, "As a movie watching experience, ''Neerja'' is flawless. There's not a single false note." Writing for ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'',

Anupama Chopra Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...

awarded 4 out of 5 stars, saying that "''Neerja'' is a truly inspiring story that will grip you from the first frame till the last." Sarita Tanwar from ''

Daily News and Analysis Publications established in 2005 Newspapers published in Mumbai English-language newspapers published in India Daily newspapers published in India Essel Group 2005 establishments in Maharashtra ...

'' gave 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "''Neerja'' is quite easily the finest film in recent times (on par with ''

Talvar ''Madan's Talwar'', later known as ''The Talvar'', was an early-20th-century Indian Nationalist periodical published from Berlin. Originally named after Madan Lal Dhingra, one of the heroes of the Indian independence movement who had been exec ...

'' (2015)) based on a true story." Raja Sen from Rediff.com gave 4 out of 5 stars as well and called it "an absolute must-watch," adding that "Sonam Kapoor is exceptional as Neerja Bhanot." Suahni Singh of ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...

'' rated the film as a 3.5 stars and stated, "Sonam Kapoor delivered her career-best performance as she assuredly plays an abused wife, a beloved daughter and a flight attendant caught in her worst nightmare." Rummana of ''

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'' gave it 4 out of 5 stars, stating, "''Neerja'' deserves loud applause because not only is it an exceptional story of courage but because it is an ode to the undying spirit of humanity" and called Kapoor as "the star of the film". ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bu ...

'' also gave a 4 out of 5 star rating: "''Neerja'' is a must-see, not just for its cinematic value, but also as a reminder to salute Neerja's spirit." Rajeev Masand of

News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

gave a 3.5 out of 5 rating and said, "''Neerja'' is "a well-intentioned, heartfelt film that pays tribute to a real hero." Shubhra Gupta of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'' also gave the film 3 stars out of 5, writing that "Minus the songs and the excessive schmaltz, ''Neerja'' could have been outstanding. But still, the film holds, and hold us with it." Manjusha Radhakrishnan of ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launc ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars; while she criticised the terrorists' lack of depth and weak points in ''Neerjas second half, she wrote that "the climax of the film is powerful and makes up for that blip." Jason Klein of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' declared that DAR-Film Leaderboard was notably absent of Oscar-nominated films, but part of the gap was filled by ''Neerja''. Sonali Kokra of '' The National'' praised the film: "''Neerja'' is a great story told well. Mitesh Mirchandani’s jerky camerawork does a great job of using the claustrophobic confines of the aircraft to showcase the oppressiveness of the situation and the terror of the hostages."

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

Website on Neerja Bhanot
* * {{Portal bar, Film, Bollywood 2010s Hindi-language films 2016 action thriller films 2016 films Films about women in India Films about aircraft hijackings Films about aviation accidents or incidents Films about terrorism in India Films set in 1986 Films set in Karachi Films set in Pakistan Films set on airplanes Films shot in Mumbai Indian aviation films Indian biographical films Indian action thriller films Thriller films based on actual events Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners Fox Star Studios films Film censorship in Pakistan Film controversies in Pakistan Censored films 2010s biographical films Films set in airports Films about flight attendants

Plot

Cast

Production

Development and pre-production

Filming and post-production

Music

Release

Tax-free

Reception

Box office

India

Overseas

Critical response

Accolades

See also

Notes

References

External links