Chandigarh may not be a historical city but the courage and determination of three personalities from here have put them on the country’s cinematic map. “Neerja”, a film based on the youngest of these three, will release on February 19. It deals with the heroics of the then 23-year-old Pan Am chief flight purser Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life to save the lives of several passengers from terrorists during a hijack on the ground at Karachi on September 5, 1986.
Two other blockbuster movies, “Border” (1997) had featured the battle of Longewala in which Chandigarh resident Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (retired) had earned laurels, and in the more recent “Bhag Milkha Bhag” (2013), a biopic on ‘Flying Sikh’ and Chandigarh resident Milkha Singh, had highlighted his athletic racing days.
“I am happy that three people from Chandigarh have been featured prominently in Bollywood movies. It is a great coincidence. It is good to highlight achievements of people who have contributed for the country,” Brigadier Chandpuri, who was the first person from Chandigarh (population one million) on whom a Bollywood movie was made, told IANS at his Sector 33 residence here.
The hijack had left 20 people dead and 150 others injured after a bloodbath at the Karachi airport. There were around 200 Indian passengers on the flight, of whom 13 died while over 100 were injured. Following her act of bravery and supreme sacrifice, Neerja was posthumously conferred the Ashoka Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award for bravery, in 1987. She became the youngest and first woman recipient of the gallantry award.
0 Comments
