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. Meanwhile, the Pakistani authorities try to stall for time. The Pakistani negotiators inadvertently reveal the name of radio engineer Ali, whom the hijackers bring to the cockpit to use the radio for negotiations. Dejected over not finding any American passports, the hijackers instead take a British passenger hostage.
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. When Imran Ali, a Pakistani radio engineer, begins to stand up, Neerja signals for him to sit down. The terrorists try to locate a radio engineer among the passengers by ordering Neerja to make an announcement over the intercom. When a Kenyan-born Indian American 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 American pilots had just enough time to escape, as the hijackers did not realise that the cockpit of a Boeing 747 is located upstairs. 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 plane takes off from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and lands in Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, where the four Abu Nidal terrorists, disguised as security officers escorting a Libyan diplomat, hijack the plane. Neerja left Naresh and landed a job with Pan Am Airways.Īs Neerja boards Pan Am 73, it is meanwhile revealed that the Abu Nidal organisation, a Libyan-sponsored Palestinian terrorist group, plans to hijack the plane in Karachi. 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. She eventually returned home for a modelling contract.
Neerja movie spoiler professional#
She is driven to the airport by her friend Jaideep.ĭuring the flight, Neerja reflects on her brief, unhappy arranged marriage to Naresh, a professional in Doha, Qatar, who abused her over her small dowry and inability to perform household work. Her mother, Rama, expresses concern about Neerja's job as a flight attendant, suggesting that Neerja should return to her old modelling career. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Neerja won six awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actress (Critics) for Kapoor, and Best Supporting Actress for Azmi.Ģ2-year-old Neerja Bhanot arrives late for a house party one evening. It won two awards at the 64th National Film Awards including Best Feature Film in Hindi and Special Mention for Kapoor. The film received a number of accolades at Bollywood award organisations, with particular praise for Kapoor's performance and Madhvani's direction. The film grossed ₹135.52 crore (US$18 million) at the box office. Neerja was released on 19 February 2016 to critical acclaim, and became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films featuring a female protagonist. The film features music by Vishal Khurana, with lyrics written by Prasoon Joshi. Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla worked on the script, with principal photography taking place in Mumbai. The film is shown from the point of view of head purser of the flight, Neerja Bhanot, who thwarted the hijack attempt by alerting the pilots, thus grounding the plane Bhanot died trying to help save 359 of the 379 passengers and crew on board.ĭevelopment began in September 2014, when Kasbekar signed Madhvani and Kapoor for a film to be made by Bling Unplugged and Fox Star Studios. The plot is based on a real-life event: the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan by Libyan-backed Abu Nidal Organization on 5 September 1986. The film features Sonam Kapoor as the title character with Shekhar Ravjiani, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tiku, Kavi Shastri and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles. It was produced by Atul Kasbekar's company, Bling Unplugged, alongside Fox Star Studios. Neerja is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical thriller film directed by Ram Madhvani and written by Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh.