Remembering Neerja Bhanot: Defining Moments from the Braveheart's Life

Sonam Kapoor’s recently released film Neerja has once again shifted focus onto the brave flight attendant Neerja Bhanot who was killed by terrorist on the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73. The daughter of a noted journalist Harish Bhanot, she was born in Chandigarh in 1963 and did her elementary schooling in Chandigarh.

Neerja's Childhood Pics

After completing her formal education, Neerja tried her hand at modeling. During her short modeling career, she shot ads for noted brand such as Amul. As expected, the vivacious lady, looked gorgeous in all her shoots and proved that she was indeed a beauty with brains.

On the personal front, Neerja tied knot in 1985 at the age of 21 and moved to the Gulf. However, when her marriage didn’t work out too well, she was forced to return home. Luckily, she did not let this setback break her spirit. And she decided to apply for the job of a flight attendant with Pan Am 73. Being an intelligent and skilled candidate, she was selected. Thereafter, she left for Miami to undergo training.

As expected, she fared extremely well during the course and made new friends. Moreover, her graduation day proved to be quite memorable as she posed for a group photo with her colleagues. We must say she looked extremely happy and that too for a very special reason.

Shortly thereafter, Neerja served as purser on what would turn out to be the final flight of her life.  Unaware of what fate had in store for her, she welcomed passengers onboard and hoped that they had a safe journey. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case as the flight was soon hijacked.

As we all know, following the hijack, Neerja ensured the safety of her passengers but lost her life in the process.  Shortly after her death, her funeral was held and left many people with tears in their eyes. We had indeed lost one of our bravest and most inspirational daughters.