The Pakistani censor board has banned Neerja, and here the lead actresses Shabana Azmi and Sonam Kapoor expressed their unhappiness of banning the film.
The veteran actor said she still hopes that the film will release in neighboring country, “It is upsetting but I haven’t given up. I hope it releases there (Pakistan). Because officially nobody has rejected the release yet, we have been told the process is going on to release the film. The kind of reaction Neerja received, I think still there is a chance for releasing the film.”
The Ram Madhvani-directed biopic revolves around the hijacking of a Pan Am flight in Karachi in 1986. The film shows how flight attendant Neerja Bhanot stopped the hijack attempt by preventing the plane from taking off and then saving the lives of 360 hostages.
While Azmi has not given up hope, the lead star Sonam Kapoor is quite disheartened with the fact that the Pakistani audience is watching the pirated version.
“Officially the film has not released there. But it is very saddening to know that the audience is watching the pirated version of the movie. I don’t understand the logic behind it. I think this is politics between both sides. One thing I always say that there is no place for politics in arts and sports. Unfortunately, this has happened” Kapoor said.
“More than 60 years ago, we were the same country. When I was in boarding school, Indians and Pakistanis would always hang out. We look similar, have a similar culture. Excluding the cricket matches, we were always together. I can’t understand the reason why it’s not released there, it can’t be that complicated,” added Sonam.
The film released worldwide on February 19.