WATCH | 'I Feel Bad Neerja Has Not Been Able to Get a Release in Pakistan': Sonam Kapoor

 

Actor Sonam Kapoor, who is currently riding high on the critical and commercial success of her latest film Neerja, feels disappointed on one count.
The film, which is based on the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi airport in Pakistan, details how head purser Neerja Bhanot (played by Sonam in the film) thwarted the hijack attempt by preventing the plane from taking off.
Says Sonam, “It is very sad that the film has not been able to find a release in Pakistan though I know for a fact that a lot of people have watched pirated copies of the film. There is no place for politics in art and sports. I remember when I was studying in a boarding school abroad, I used to have a lot of friends from Pakistan. I got along really well with them. Not surprising, after all, till 60 years ago we were just one country. Till today we have a similar culture and a lot of other common things with our neighbouring country. When I was in boarding school with my Pakistani friends, there was no difference between them and me. Only during the India-Pakistan cricket matches we wanted to support our respective countries.  We used to hang out and do so many things together because of the shared past that the two nations have had. I feel bad that an inspiring film which stands for such high values has not been able to get a release in Pakistan.”
Vijay Singh, CEO of Fox Star Studios, the production house which co-produced and released the film says, “Anybody who has seen the film will at once know that the film does not show Pakistan in a bad light. We haven’t given up hope. We are trying our best to make Neerja’s release possible in Pakistan.”