Aparna Sen's English film starring Shabana Azmi and Lillete Dubey is all about female bonding and other side of mid life crisis. Title of the film is Sonata which tells story of three unmarried middle aged women. Shabana Azmi, Aparna Sen, Lillete Dubey will be seen as three friends in the film Sonata.
Aparna Sen who is famous for making women-centric films and in film Sonata she is exploring mid-life crisis through the eyes of three unmarried women living in Mumbai – professor Aruna Chaturvedi, banker Dolon Sen and journalist Subhadra Parekh. Aparna Sen plays the role of a Sanskrit professor named Aruna Chaturvedi, Shabana is Dolon Sen while Lillete Dubey will be seen as journalist Subhadra Parekh in film Sonata.
Sonata is a film based on Mahesh Elkunchwar’s play, and explores the complexities and isolation the three women experience in the backdrop of a modern day life. They have a different kind of mindset, yet despite their differences they manage to cherish each other’s company. They drink wine, watch men in their briefs, but simultaneously remain socially conscious, hoping that no one hears them. Aparna Sen’s husband Kalyan Ray is also playing a lovers role in the film.
Hindi film Neerja will be released on 19 February 2016
and the film is based on the actual hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi,
Pakistan. Flight attendant Neerja Bhanot sacrificed her life for the lives of
her passengers.
Story of the film Neerja
Neerja Bhanot
The film is based on the life of flight attendant Neerja
Bhanot who was shot dead by terrorists who hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi
on 5 September 1986.
Neerja Bhanot was the senior flight purser in Pan Am
Flight 73 flying from Mumbai to the USA and the plane was hijacked by four
armed men at Karachi airport in Pakistan. There were 400 passengers. The
terrorist wanted to redirect the plane towards Israel and crash it into a
building. The pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer evacuated the aircraft so
that the aircraft could not be forcibly flown. Neerja Bhanot took charge.
The hijackers tried to identify the American passengers through
passports but Neerja Bhanot and the other attendants hid the passports of the
41 Americans on board.
After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off
explosives. Neerja Bhanot opened the emergency door and assisted all the
passengers to escape. Neerja was shot by the hijackers and from a total of 41
American passengers, only 2 were killed during firing. One of the children,who
was in that flight and then aged 7, is
now a captain for a major airline and has stated that Neerja Bhanot has been
his inspiration and he owes every day of his life to her.
Neerja Bhanot is the youngest recipient of the Ashok
Chakra Award, India's most prestigious gallantry award for bravery during peace
time.
