Neerja Bhanots family to watch the film in Chandigarh

17 Feb 2017

Braveheart Neerja Bhanots family would be watching the film on Friday in their home-town Chandigarh. Sadly, her mother Rama Bhanot passed away in December days before the trailer of the film on her daughter was released. Shabana Azmi who plays Rama Bhanot regrets that the mother wont be able to watch the film. I had the good fortune of meeting her a year before the film was offered to me. The Bhanot family had invited me to Chandigarh to present the Neerja Bhanot award for bravery. I took an immediate shine to Ramaji and was struck by her spiritedness and her warmth. Shabana feels putting across Neerja Bhanots story is a big responsibility. We are very grateful that Ramaji trusted us with telling Neerjas story. She gave us her blessings on the first day of the shoot. She passed away five days before our trailer launch. I wish she could have seen the film. Shabana avoided trying to imitate Rama Bhanot. I wasnt required to look or talk like her, but I do hope Ive been able to convey her spirit. The director Ram Madhvani keeps saying the foreground of the film is the hijack but the soul is the mother daughter-relationship.