Sonam Kapoor says the makers of her forthcoming film Neerja
are not trying to sell the film to the audience, but only intend to
inspiring people with the story of Neerja Bhanot, who lost her life
while saving others on a hijacked flight.
On Friday, Sonam visited
St. Xavier's College, where Neerja studied, and unveiled a stone plaque
featuring Neerja's name and details of her achievements. The stone will
adorn a wall of the institute.
Talking
about it, Sonam said: "I'm so glad that Xavier's has given us this
opportunity and given her this amazing honour of always being on the
walls on this institution."
Neerja was awarded the Ashok Chakra
for saving several hundred lives as an air hostess on the hijacked Pan
Am Flight 73 in 1986, eventually losing her life in the battle with
hijackers.
“Neerja Bhanot is an inspiration and she had become
quite famous 30 years ago. So it is our endeavour that she becomes an
inspiration again. This film is for Neerja Bhanot. We’re not trying to
sell this film, we are just trying to inspire people with this film,"
Sonam said here.
The actress said the makers based their promotional strategy also on the idea of inspiring the youth.
"That’s
why we are going to colleges and speaking about brave people. It is
unconventional, and we don’t know how it’s going to get translated. But
we’re trying to do something different and new, so that it’s about her
as opposed to us just selling the film,” said Sonam.
The actress
added: "The film is for young people, to inspire the future of India, to
say that we can all be heroes. I talk a lot about myself, but now it’s
important to talk about Neerja and the values she stood for. A lot of
people are understanding that and seeing that. I hope everybody
recognises what we’re trying to portray."
What inspiration did Sonam take from Neerja?
“That
all of us have a hero in us. She was an ordinary girl, she did her duty
and she understood what is the best part of her, and she explored that
and saved 359 lives. If you do what you think is right for you to do for
other people, anybody can be a hero."
Neerja also stars Shabana Azmi and Shekhar Ravjiani.
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Monday, February 8, 2016
Outsider no more: Harshvardhan Rane makes an impressive debut in 'Sanam Teri Kasam'
Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan Kapoor should be scared — there is
already a very talented namesake who’s made his debut this week, months
before the Kapoor scion.
But the other Harshvardhan (let’s call them both Harsh for the sake of brevity) has no reason to be insecure. He is from an illustrious film family where three generations of industry insiders co-exist under the same roof.
Harshvardhan Kapoor’s sister Sonam is already a top star. He is being launched by one of the topnotch filmmakers of the country in a film that will be promoted in the coming months as the romantic sensation of the year/decade/century, depending on how far they are willing to go with the hype. And of course, they will give him all the debut awards at the end of the year. That way you get all the Kapoors to attend.
The other Harsh (Rane), who already has a body of work to prove himself in Telugu, had to make do with a relatively small love story directed by co-directors Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao, not quite in the league of the posh Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who launches Harsh of the Kapoor clan.
As expected Harshvardhan Rane’s Hindi debut Sanam Teri Kasam has met with cold contempt. The film, not devoid of merit, including an outstanding performance by Rane, was never given a chance. The critics (barring your truly) trounced it, but blessedly they have singled out the leads’ performances for praise.
But is that enough? Would Rane be able to survive a flop debut without a filmy empire to support him? The ‘Harsh’ truth, if it must be told, is that Bollywood continues to be clannish to the point of insulating itself from some real talent.
This pedigree snobbery changed three years ago, thanks to the enterprising spirit of one producer Aditya Chopra, who resolved to break the stronghold of filmy empires (ironically, he belongs to an empire himself) by introducing talent from the outside: Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Parineeti Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Vani Kapoor, and Bhumi Pedneker were all talented Yash Raj discoveries with no genealogical advantages in Bollywood empires.
But would they have made it if the far-sighted Adi Chopra had not swooped down on their talents? Doubtful. Ranveer Singh struggled for years, getting knocked around from producer to producer, until he broke through with Band Baaja Baaarat.
I believe Harshvardhan Rane has the talent and screen presence to be the next best thing after Ranveer Singh, provided he gets the opportunities. Let’s face it. Equal work opportunities is a myth, at least in the Hindi film industry. The sad truth is that Harshvardhan Rane with all his talent gets launched in Sanam Teri Kasam while a Harshvardhan Kapoor gets Rakeysh Mehra’s Mirzya.
When was the last time an outsider with no connections made it big in Bollywood? Shah Rukh Khan? Akshay Kumar? John Abraham?
Time to open the connecting door between Harsh Kapoor and Harsh Rane.
But the other Harshvardhan (let’s call them both Harsh for the sake of brevity) has no reason to be insecure. He is from an illustrious film family where three generations of industry insiders co-exist under the same roof.
Harshvardhan Kapoor’s sister Sonam is already a top star. He is being launched by one of the topnotch filmmakers of the country in a film that will be promoted in the coming months as the romantic sensation of the year/decade/century, depending on how far they are willing to go with the hype. And of course, they will give him all the debut awards at the end of the year. That way you get all the Kapoors to attend.
The other Harsh (Rane), who already has a body of work to prove himself in Telugu, had to make do with a relatively small love story directed by co-directors Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao, not quite in the league of the posh Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who launches Harsh of the Kapoor clan.
As expected Harshvardhan Rane’s Hindi debut Sanam Teri Kasam has met with cold contempt. The film, not devoid of merit, including an outstanding performance by Rane, was never given a chance. The critics (barring your truly) trounced it, but blessedly they have singled out the leads’ performances for praise.
But is that enough? Would Rane be able to survive a flop debut without a filmy empire to support him? The ‘Harsh’ truth, if it must be told, is that Bollywood continues to be clannish to the point of insulating itself from some real talent.
This pedigree snobbery changed three years ago, thanks to the enterprising spirit of one producer Aditya Chopra, who resolved to break the stronghold of filmy empires (ironically, he belongs to an empire himself) by introducing talent from the outside: Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Parineeti Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Vani Kapoor, and Bhumi Pedneker were all talented Yash Raj discoveries with no genealogical advantages in Bollywood empires.
But would they have made it if the far-sighted Adi Chopra had not swooped down on their talents? Doubtful. Ranveer Singh struggled for years, getting knocked around from producer to producer, until he broke through with Band Baaja Baaarat.
I believe Harshvardhan Rane has the talent and screen presence to be the next best thing after Ranveer Singh, provided he gets the opportunities. Let’s face it. Equal work opportunities is a myth, at least in the Hindi film industry. The sad truth is that Harshvardhan Rane with all his talent gets launched in Sanam Teri Kasam while a Harshvardhan Kapoor gets Rakeysh Mehra’s Mirzya.
When was the last time an outsider with no connections made it big in Bollywood? Shah Rukh Khan? Akshay Kumar? John Abraham?
Time to open the connecting door between Harsh Kapoor and Harsh Rane.
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