Did Neerja Because the Story Needs to be Told, Don't Care if it'll be a Game-Changer - Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor's career graph boasts of many different kind of films. From chic-flicks to love stories, Sonam has done it all. But it is her forthcoming movie Neerja, that people are predicting, will become a turning point in her career. The film which is based on the life of Neerja Bhanot, the air hostess who lost her life while combating terrorists on Pan Am Flight, releases this week and the industrywallahs are already gung-ho about it. Sonam too is excited about the movie, not because she thinks it will win her accolades, but purely because she wants this story to be told to the people. 

In a heart-to-heart conversation, Sonam talks about shooting Neerja, a film which is close to her heart. Excerpts from the Interview:

What was your first reaction when you were offered Neerja?

I was glad the film was being made whether I am in this film or not is a different thing. It sounds really cliche but that it the truth. You get moved by the trailer and it came only from the idea of her duty. The duty of the cabin crew is safety of the passengers. Also, the subject is relevant in today's times - terrorism, morals, women empowerment, fear, courage - whether it is Paris attacks, London attacks etc. I think all this is happening so much today that it is absolutely relevant. She was a normal ordinary girl and she did the right thing and became an extra ordinary person.

The first time that Neerja Bhanot's mother met you at their house, she said, 'Laado Aa Gayi'. Has this added more responsibility on you to do justice with this film?

Yeah and besides that, Neerja Bhanot has also become my hero. She became my hero after I started doing research on her. Before that I had many historically famous beings who were my heroes - like Waheeda Rehman, Meryl Streep, Sarojini Naidu etc. But this girl should be everyone's hero. And it is not for winning any race or match. All she did was her duty. She was a 23-year-old scared girl but decided to do something right. She overcame her fear and saved lives. This is what a Soldier does. So yes, her honesty made her extraordinary.

Ram Madhvani said that the one thing which stayed with him was that after wrapping up the movie, everyone came out alive. Neerja didn't. What stayed with you?

It's the same thing. The way we shot the film was like real. We did everything the way it is actually required. We were in the flight for 16 hours and went through exactly the same that the passengers did during the hijack. I collected every passport, like a normal air-hostess does. I was serving water to all. Everybody was experiencing those 16 hours for 15 days. We did what the passengers did. That created lot of camaraderie between all of us. Though there was immense relief we experienced after coming out of the plane, there was sadness too. Neerja had to lose her life and she couldn't come out of the plane alive. That was the most heartbreaking thing.

You said at the trailer launch that Neerja shoot went about smoothly. Could you explain...

Very strange things happened to me during the making of the film. Everything happened very smoothly as if someone wanted us to make the movie. Whomever we asked to do the movie, they said yes. Like for instance, we didn't have a permission to make a plane on that ground. But somehow it just happened. There was strike in the industry, the people who were on the set, no one got involved in the strike and our shoot continued. Then, I was shooting for PRDP and during that time Ashley, who was doing clothes for Salman Khan, came and asked me about my next project. So I told him about the movie and he went silent. He said that he was meeting these few people who knew her well because she was a model. Then when I was doing research for Battle of Bittora and for that I met a politician and we happened to talk about the school she attended. She told me 'I went to Bombay Scottish' and she told me that Neerja was her classmate. So things were just coming to me. Like Sana, she works for my Sister Rhea Kapoor, her mom was Neerja's best friend. She came to me through Imran and Avantika. She is their cousin. When I was shooting the climax, my Mami called me up and said 'Sonam a friend of mine has come from America and she wants to speak to you'. So I spoke to her. She said 'I am a huge fan of yours and blah blah blah.. What are you shooting now?' I told her about Neerja biopic. She went silent. I asked her why and she told me, 'I was very close to her. I went to Pakistan to get her body' and you won't believe we were shooting the same scene that day. It was the Universe telling us that this story needs to be told. Why is this film being made 30 years later? This will inspire many now.

Akshay Kumar recently expressed his desire that incidents like Airlift and Neerja should be included in History textbooks. Do you agree?

Neerja is there in text books but not Pan India but I hope so it happens soon. There are few things that work in India - Bollywood, Cricket and Politics. And we just learn stuff like that. It is not in the history books pan India, because it is being made into a film, it will have the reach and I hope every student hears and reads about it. I am also glad that Ram, Fox and Bling decided to make it. It is not the entertainment, I don't care about the accolades for the acting and all of that non-sense. That is irrelevant. I feel she deserves the respect. So whenever someone says that this film will be a game-changer for me, I feel, 'I don't care. I honestly do not care about that.' This film should be an encouragement and this girl should be put up on a pedestal and given the respect because anybody can be her. She will inspire everyone.