The first thing a person should know if he/she decides to watch Neerja is that the movie makes you sad, very sad. The story building is such that it doesn't allow one much time before the hijack. The flashback scenes of Neerja's early life are poignant and inserted in all the right ways during the course of the movie. Sonam strikes gold for the very first time. Her acting skills have honed in these years but she still needs to sharpen the saw. Although she is better than what we have seen earlier of her, she still needs improvisation. But the good thing is that she fits into the role perfectly, which has enhanced her character further. Little disappointed I was in the scene when the terrorist asks her to sing. That scene could have been made and enacted in a very powerful way and could have left an everlasting impression on the mind of the viewers, but unfortunately it was just average. Songs are not too many and rightly so. In such movies one needs only background music and the right chords at the right moments. One particular song that left me in tears was "Aisa kyu maa'. Shabana Azmi as'Maa' was perfect. Actors of her stature don't need a validation and she was simply a delight to watch. The quiver and punch with which she gave her speech in the end of the movie gave her my heart. Also one more person who had my heart was Jim Sarbh. He was so brilliant as a terrorist that you can actually hate him to the core. The dialogue delivery and accent of all the actors playing terrorist was off the charts and consistent throughout. For Shekhar, one really can't say much about as he had only couple of scenes, but he was not bad. My only disappointment was the cinematography. It was too suffocated and up to the rafters. Could have been a little more fine. Overall a bittersweet movie experience. You can surely go watch it!
Review of Neerja
