Neerja became a martyr in 1986 and it took Bollywood three decades to tell her story. And that’s exactly what she did while performing her duties in the hijacked flight. She may have got out of her marriage but the lesson to put herself last probably stayed with her. Neerja was first killed by her husband and the society that taught her to put herself last and that “adjust toh ladki ko hee karna padta hai.” (it is the girl who always has to adjust) Of course Neerja was shot and killed by those terrorists who hijacked her flight but a part of her was dead before those terrorists shot her. But thankfully she knew that there’s no heroism in suffering. Married at an early age (arranged marriage) Neerja remained in an abusive marriage for several months. Through this woman’s character the film sheds light on the Indian society in the 1980’s and a woman’s place in it. So who was Neerja? She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife, a career-woman and a quintessential Indian woman. Instead, Bollywood almost always picks up stories of real women that can either be made into a sleazy/sexual film (The Dirty Picture) or where women are portrayed as victims (Bavandar, Bandit Queen).Īnd when women fight patriarchy or a corrupt system in films, they always do so in groups (Mirch Masala, Gulab Gang)īut with No One Killed Jessica, Mary Kom and now Neerja things are surely albeit slowly changing. But when it comes to making films on real life women who lived their lives with courage, bravery and selflessness, setting an example for future generations to follow, the films are few and far in between.
We saw films made on our great freedom fighters and martyrs (Gandhi, Bose, Bhagat Singh), on athletes (Milkha Singh), notorious gangsters and criminals (Dawood, Chhota Rajan) and even films on ‘real’ ghosts (Ragini MMS). Over the last few decades we have seen many films that are either based on or inspired by real life stories of both the notorious and the heroic. Not that Neerja’s life and her story needs Bollywood’s acknowledgement of course but the film is a reminder of where the priorities of our Hindi film industry lie. After watching this film what struck me was that it took Bollywood 30 years to uncover this story and honor it as a film. I am embarrassed to admit that before this film I did not know who Neerja Bhanot was as would be the case with most people my generation and younger, I suspect. And she was all of twenty two at the time.
Neerja heroically saved the lives of 359 passengers and crew members and tragically lost her own. Neerja is based on the true story of Neeja Bhanot who was the flight head purser with Pan Am flight 73 when it was hijacked in Karachi. Actually it’s the only Bollywood film I saw this year in theatres. The only good Bollywood film I saw this year was Neerja.
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