Oye Pakistan! Why so Angry with ‘Neerja’? You Are NOT the Bad Guys

‘Neerja’ doesn’t show Pak in bad light, yet it has been banned without being submitted to the Pakistan censor board.

Pakistan Censor Board Janaab!

Ek Tha Tiger, Black Friday, Agent Vinod, Tere Bin Laden, D-Day, Baby, Phantom, Qurbaan, even Homeland Season 4, Zero Dark Thirty… Inka to samajh mein aata hai…

In these films, the ISI, or rogue ISI, or the Pakistan Army, or the rogue Pakistan Army elements, or non-state actors whom the General saabs cannot control, are shown to be villains, so you have to ban them.

Lekin Neerja…? Why have you banned Neerja? You are NOT the bad guys in the film! Aapko complex ho gaya hai… Bollywood film...Karachi...Hijack…we must be the villains.

No Janaab! Not this time!

The bad guys in Neerja are four terrorists from the Palestinian Abu Nidal group.

So, they were not of Pakistani origin, not Pakistan trained either, not being ‘handled’ by the ISI, not being supported ‘furtively’ by any Hafiz Saeed sort either. So, no ‘guilt’, no embarrassment for you there.

Yes, they took advantage of the situation in Pakistan in the mid-80s – when you and the US were backing the Mujahideen fighting the Russians in Afghanistan, so arms, guns, grenades were freely available in Karachi.

And airport security was a bit lax across the world in the not-so-nasty ‘80s. So, the bad guys, posing as security men ferrying a fake ‘Libyan Diplomat’ to the airport, are seen getting past a sentry post at Karachi Airport.

I dare say that in the ‘80s, you may have been able to do that at some Indian airports too.

Heck, some Jaish terrorists were able to enter the Pathankot airbase this year! So, I’d say, no need to be so touchy about that one security lapse.

What next? To get right up to the Pan Am aircraft, the bad guys had to get past another gate, where they shown ‘shooting dead’ two Pakistani security guards.

So, that actually gives you two ‘martyrs’ and if there was a Pakistani audience for the film, the empathy would have started right there. Isn’t it?

And there’s more.

While Neerja, fellow cabin crew and the passengers were the heroes on board the plane, the guy on the outside who did the most to save the day was a character named Inzamam Younis, then a senior security official at Karachi airport.

Director Ram Madhwani clearly researched this man and his role that day thoroughly. And his list of heroics is long.

Since you won’t be watching Neerja, main batata hoon….

First, he’s cool as a Karachi ki Kakdi! As soon as he knows that the Pan Am pilots and officials have washed their hands off the hijack (i.e. no Bruce Willis ya George Clooney ya Matt Damon type American official/part-time CIA operative, ex-US Marine is going to step in and save the day) he takes charge. And how!

Second, he is shown to be a caring world citizen – when a junior colleague tells him how many Pakistanis are on the plane, suggesting that they be rescued first, he bites his head off. So cool!

Third, he is very very brave. He approaches the aircraft armed only with a megaphone. With the hijackers’ guns pointed at him, he starts to negotiate.

While they demand a pilot to fly the plane out of Karachi, with increasing desperation, he stalls them for close to 24 hours.

Tempers fly, one hostage is killed, but in ensuring that that the Pan Am flight stayed at Karachi, Younis showed diplomatic skills that both our governments could perhaps learn from.

For further empathy, you may want to know that the film has another brave Pakistani among the passengers. Amir Ali, the radio engineer. He helps the hijackers speak to the airport officials, until he is killed by one of them in a fit of rage.

Another good touch was the sensitivity shown by Pakistani journalists in Karachi whom Neerja’s journalist dad turned to for information about the hijack and if possible, about Neerja as well.

Not convinced yet? Well, the film ends with Pakistani commandos storming the plane. And they look good. They plan the assault on the aircraft meticulously.

They attack at the right time, when the plane loses power for a few minutes, leaving the hijackers confused.

And most important - even with the hijackers firing at passengers trying to escape from the plane, the Pakistani commandos were able to rescue 359 of them. Twenty lives were lost, including Neerja’s, tragically.

Ok, there’s more – while you have struggled to accept that Dawood is in Pakistan and extradite him, while you have dragged your feet on the 26/11 case, and while you retain this soft corner for Hafiz Saeed, in the Pan Am case, the Pakistan judiciary actually delivered.

The four Abu Nidal group terrorists were sentenced to life imprisonment. The death sentence may have been more appropriate, but we, and Neerja, could perhaps let that go.

But actually Censor Janaab, I feel for you. I hear you weren’t even allowed to see Neerja.

Your Commerce Ministry simply refused to issue the NOC required to ‘import’ the film. Red tape, pre-conceived notions. Sounds familiar actually.

Like some Indians wanting to ban Ghulam Ali, for the follies of others.