Neerja is a 2016 Indian biographical thriller film directed by Ram Madhvani and written by Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh. It was produced by Atul Kasbekar's company, Bling Unplugged, alongside Fox Star Studios. The film stars Sonam Kapoor as the eponymous lead, with Shekhar Ravjiani, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tiku, Kavi Shastri and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles.
The plot is based on a real-life event: the attempted hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan by Libyan-backed Abu Nidal Organization in September 1986. The film is shown from the point of view of the 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 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. The film features music by Vishal Khurana K, with lyrics written by Prasoon Joshi. 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 grossed ₹135.52 crore (US$14 million) at the box office.
The film received widespread 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 - Best Feature Film in Hindi and Special Mention (Kapoor). At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Neerja received 8 nominations, including Best Film and Best Director (Madhvani), and won a leading 6 awards, including Best Film (Critics), Best Actress (Critics) (Kapoor), and Best Supporting Actress (Azmi).
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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