Brave, vivacious, compassionate and beautiful is what can be rightly said about the head flight purser, Neerja Bhanot. The Sonam Kapoor starring film “Neerja” is a biopic about a senior flight attendant of the Pan Am Flight 73 which got hijacked on 5th September, 1986. She was shot dead while saving the passengers in the flight.
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She was only 22 years old and few hours away from her birthday when this tragic incident happened. Her father wrote, “Neerja was a very sensitive, deeply affectionate and an extremely decent person who believed in sharing with her people all her joys but not the jolts. She had well defined principles and there was little room for compromise in that area.”
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Let’s dig deeper into the brave Neerja Bhanot’s life and see some more facts about the hijacked flight tragic case which less people must be aware about:
1. Neerja Bhanot was born and raised in Chandigarh. Her father, Harish Bhanot is a journalist and mother, Rama Bhanot is a housewife. They moved to Mumbai after few years. Her parents used to call her “Laado” at home.
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2. She studied in Bombay Scottish School and completed her graduation degree from St. Xavier’s College-Autonomous, Mumbai.
3. Less people know that she got married when she was only 21 years old in March 1985. But, it turned out to be an ill-fated relationship because her husband started demanding huge dowry from her. She went back to live with her parents after 2 months of her marriage.
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4. It was then, that she joined as a flight attendant in Mumbai
5. Before joining the flight, she had already worked in many print advertisements as well as various TV commercials like, Vico Turmeric, Benzer sarees, Godrej Besto detergent, Binaca toothpaste, Vaporex, etc.
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6. The Pam Am Flight 73 was carrying 360 passengers and was hijacked in Karachi by 4 Palestinian men who belonged to Abu Nidal Organization funded by Libya. They were heavily armed with pistol, assault rifles, plastic explosives, etc.
7. The smart Neerja started hiding all the passports especially of the American passengers under the seats because she believed that the American passengers might become a serious target.
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8. She assisted many passengers to move out of the plane without injuries. But, Neerja was shot when she was trying to protect three children from the bullet rounds. And yes, those hijackers were sentenced to death.
9. In fact, one of those children is now an air pilot and considers Neerja Bhanot as his ultimate role model. He was 7 years old that time.
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10. Neerja Bhanot is India’s youngest recipients of the prestigious award, Ashok Chakra which is the highest gallantry award in the country for bravery.
11. The story of this courageous incident was also shown in the TV crime serial “Savdhan India” which is showcased in the “Life OK” channel. You can watch the episode here.
The film, “Neerja” will be releasing tomorrow i.e. 19th February. Go and watch the real life story of Neerja. Watch the movie trailer.
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Also, here is her last voice which was recorded before she laid her life.
