Shabana Azmi roped in to play Sonam Kapoor's mother in Neerja Bhanot biopic
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has been roped in to play Sonam Kapoor's mother in Neerja Bhanot biopic.
According to DNA, veteran actress Shabana Azmi has been roped in to play Sonam Kapoor's mother in Neerja Bhanot biopic.
Sonam plays the brave air hostess who gave up her own life while saving hundreds on board a flight in Karachi in 1986. The film is titled Neerja and is being directed by Ram Madhvani.
Interestingly, Shabana Azmi last year gave away the 2013 Neerja Bhanot Award to Rashmi Anand, a victim of domestic violence. While giving the award, Shaban reportedly said, "What would Neerja have been thinking of when she opened the door of the plane and, in spite of the bullets flying all round her and hand grenades exploding, she decided not to jump out and run away but instead do her duty and help the passengers escape?"
Neerja Bhanot was a senior 23-year-old flight attendant on the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73, which was hijacked by four heavily armed terrorists after it landed at Karachi at 5 am from Mumbai on September 5, 1986.
After 17 hours of being trapped, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. Bhanot opened the emergency door and helped a number of passengers escape.
She could have been the first to jump out when she opened the door but she decided not and was shot while shielding three children from a hail of bullets.
Bhanot was recognised internationally as "the heroine of the hijack" and is the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra Award, India's most prestigious gallantry award for bravery during peace time.
Besides Neerja, Azmi will also be seen in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's comeback vehicle Jazbaa.