Chandigarh:
National hero Neerja Bhanot's brother Aneesh is all praise for the biopic on the stewardess who was killed while saving the lives of passengers during the 1986 hijacking of a Pan Am flight. He says the Ram Madhvani-directed film starring Sonam Kapoor is proving to be an inspiration for the people.
"I have been flooded with phone calls, messages and Facebook posts from across the country and all over the world ever since
Neerja released. It is quite overwhelming. The film has been really well made and Neerja's portrayal does full justice to her act of courage," Aneesh Bhanot told IANS.
"People who have seen the film in the United States, Australia and other countries are either calling up or sending messages about her act of courage and how so many of them have been moved after watching the movie. Many survivors of the hijacking have also been in touch," Aneesh said.
"In the United States, people who have gone to see the film have installed electric candles inside movie theatres. By bringing the story back to the youth, the film is doing great service to the community. Many youth didn't even know her story. The film tells them that there is nothing to fear, even as a woman, from terrorists or anyone," he added.
The film, which was released on February 19, has brought back memories for the Bhanot family.
Aneesh, the younger of the two brothers, quietly booked a 'first day-first show' ticket for himself in a city multiplex here so that he could watch the film alone.
"I wanted to go and see this alone. I thought that (director Ram Madhvani) and his team have really done a very good job," said Aneesh, who was in tears during the film.
His family members went to see the film the same day and he accompanied them.
House No. 3727 in Chandigarh's Sector 46, where Neerja's brothers, Akhil and Aneesh, reside, is named 'Neerja Niwas'. A plaque outside the gate also mentions the Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award for bravery, given to Neerja Bhanot in 1987 the first woman to be so honoured.
Braveheart Neerja Bhanot gave up her life two days before she would have turned 23, to save a large group of American children during a terrorist hijack of a Pan-Am flight at Karachi international airport in Pakistan on September 5, 1986.
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