Here’s one rare review where I don’t need to worry about giving away what the movie is about (maybe even a first). If you don’t know the story of Neerja Bhanot, well then you ought to know it and if you do, you already have some idea of what you can expect to see.
Me, I was one of the ignorant fools who had only a sketchy idea of what she actually did and the first thing I did after witnessing such heroism in the hall, was to check up on how much of it was fact and how much was fiction. Often these stories can have some fictional elements – just to make the hero more heroic, if nothing else. Well, that’s not the case here – every single act is how it actually happened and I am damn glad this movie was made. At least now I know and can sincerely salute this lady for her incredible bravery in the face of this terrible ordeal.
That brings me to Neerja – the movie (which is what this post is supposed to really be about). Unfortunately, am a little torn – on the one side I want to continue to laud the story of this incredible woman and on the other, the movie making didn’t wholly grip my attention. In fact, the movie starts off painfully slow and predictable and you don’t even feel the build up as much. There is no sense of underlying tension despite showing terrorists in preparation and had this not been about Neerja – I doubt if I could’ve felt as much for the goings on on-screen. Thankfully though the direction becomes better when the action heats up and some scenes are executed with near brilliance. Still, that happens only in certain moments and it is Neerja’s (the woman) brilliance that keeps you interested rather than how the movie is made
In a lot of ways I thought there were missed opportunities – the childhood of Neerja and her zest for life, her actual voice, which has separately been tweeted by Sonam Kapoor (I wonder what good that does now and why they didn’t have the common sense to put that in the movie itself especially at the end), accounts from the actual passengers and how they saw Neerja deal with the situation – Neerja (the movie) could’ve been so much more. That said, the sincerity of the effort is still laudable.
Which brings me to Sonam Kapoor. Aisha (which is unfortunately how I see her) is very much Aisha in the initial part and you almost groan inwardly. However, the second half sees a virtual transformation and suddenly you start seeing her as a different person. Its in her moments of silence and cool collectedness that she becomes a different actress. If only she would screech a little less – there might be hope for her as an actress after all. The characters of the terrorists are again a bit of a hit and miss. While convincing to begin with, there’s just too much screaming and shouting towards the climax. As for the others, well Shabana Azmi is a brilliant cast as Neerja’s mother – but I felt there was an over-dependence on her, especially towards the climax. Yogendra Tiku does a commendable job as the father. There are some subtle moments between the distraught parents which are captured particularly well.
Painfully, there are some songs too, that you have to sit through, which of course, have no meaning or purpose to the storyline.
All that being said, Neerja (the story) is a must watch and for that reason alone I would suggest you go and witness the ordeal of Pan Am 73 and the heroic feats of Neerja Bhanot. While the movie has its faults, one cannot doubt the sincere effort that the director and for a change, Sonam Kapoor too, have made to immortalize the ‘Heroine of the Hijack’ on screen.
No comments:
Post a Comment