Pan Am Air Hostess Neerja Bhanot and her close connect to Rajesh Khanna
Throwback: Pan Am Air Hostess Neerja Bhanot and her close connect to Rajesh Khanna
Interestingly, filmmaker Ram Madhvani’s “Neerja” completed seven years of its release on February 19. The film centered around a 23-year-old Rajesh Khanna fan Neerja Bhanot – role essayed by Sonam Kapoor who emoted Pan Am Air Hostess Neerja Bhanot. She embraces death amid mouthing dialogues from Khanna’s most famous films. In film Neerja’s most touching scenes – a terrorist who has hijacked the aircraft, orders Sonam Kapoor to sing a song. Amid fear and disgust Sonam sang the song
“Mere Sapnon Ki Rani Kab Aayegi Tu” from Veteran Shakti Samantha directorial “Aradhana” a blockbuster film that featured Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore and which film established the popularity of Singer Kishore Kumar who sang for Rajesh Khanna.
For those unversed Neerja Bhanot, the airhostess of Pan Am Airline, who on September 5, 1986 perished in trying to save precious lives of passengers in the hijacked aircraft, was an ultraconservative Rajesh Khanna fan.
Notably, Javed Akhtar, the renowned script writer and lyricist recalled how Rajesh Khanna helped him and Salim Khan emerge richer.
In an earlier sequence when Neerja’s boyfriend is accompanying her to the airport, sings. the same song for her, tapping the tune out on the steering wheel. But here’s the thing. The irony of this Aradhana chartbuster is that when Rajesh Khanna sang his way into millions of hearts by lip-syncing this Kishore Kumar number composed by RD Burman (credited in Aradhana to RD’s dad SD Burman) his ladylove Sharmila Tagore was not even there to surrender to the vibrant carol
Sharmila shot separately on a train compartment constructed on a set whereas Rajesh Khanna drove on an open jeep with Sujit Kumar on the ring roads of Darjeeling crooning to an imaginary ‘Sapnon Ki Rani’.
Using that song as a melodic serenade for the lovers in Neerja separated forever by terrorism makes ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani’the ultimate counter-romantic song of Indian cinema.
News Input K.V.Raman
