Neerja

Neerja (2016) is an Indian biographical thriller directed by Ram Madhvani that you can watch online on iFILM. The film reconstructs what unfolded aboard Pan Am Flight 73 on September 5, 1986, when armed hijackers took control of the aircraft on the ground in Karachi — and a 23-year-old flight attendant became the only thing standing between the gunmen and 359 passengers.

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja plays Neerja Bhanot, a young woman already navigating an abusive marriage back home, who that day opened the emergency exits and shielded children with her body when the shooting began. Shabana Azmi plays her mother — their scenes together run parallel to the crisis on the plane and give the film an emotional depth that a straight hostage thriller wouldn't have.

Director Madhvani keeps the tension architectural rather than melodramatic, which is the right call: the facts are already devastating enough. The tagline says fear gave her courage. The film earns that. Stream Neerja (2016) online on iFILM.