Will ‘Neerja’ prove to be a breakthrough for Sonam Kapoor?

With the kind of films 2016 has in store for us, our expectations are sky high. Well, Akshay Kumar’s ‘Airlift’ has already impressed us and now we are desperately waiting for Sonam Kapoor’s ‘Neerja’ to make it to the theatres. Yes, keeping in mind the powerful storyline of ‘Neerja’ we have high expectations from the film. Helmed by Ram Madhvani, it is a film based on the life of a flight attendant named Neerja Bhanot who sacrificed her life to save the passengers onboard a hijacked flight. Anil Kapoor’s daughter Sonam is the chosen one to essay the role of Neerja Bhanot in the film. But one question that arises in everyone’s mind is that whether Sonam will be able to do justice to this role?

History says it all that Sonam is yet to establish herself as a successful actress. Let’s start with her debut film ‘Sawaariya.’ Sanjay Leela Bhansali took the biggest risk of his life when he decided to launch two newcomers, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, in his ‘Sawaariya.’ The film tanked at the box-office. Sonam completely failed to impress the audience as well as the critics. Later, out of all the films that she worked in, none of them made it big at the box-office. ‘Aisha,’ ‘Bewakoofiyan,’ ‘Mausam,’ ‘Dellhi 6’ and few more or rather most of her films have proved to be complete flops. This was all about her unsuccessful ventures.

Let’s talk about her successful films. In 2013, she delivered two successful films ‘Ranjhanaa’ and ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.’ In ‘Ranjhanaa’ the fashionista shared screen space with Southern superstar Dhanush and whoever has watched the film would say that the film was all about Dhanush. The film ran on his shoulders and critics were in complete aww of this star. What about Sonam? The same is the case with ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.’ Sonam played the role of Farhan Akhtar’s love interest in the film and honestly she had a minimal role in the film. Her role in the film was like that of her blink and miss appearance in the recent Coldplay video.  Another latest example here is the 2015’s highest grossing film ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.’  Sonam along with Salman Khan put forth the biggest entertainer for the audience but, we all know that the film banked on Salman’s shoulder. If it wouldn’t have been Salman featuring as Prem, the movie wouldn’t have been such a big hit and it’s an unsaid fact which we all are aware of!

So following all of this, ‘Neerja’ is the first film wherein Sonam will be the solo lead. It’s a risk and if Sonam emerges victorious then ‘Neerja’ would be that game changing film of her career which would establish her hold as an actress in the industry. We hope that she does justice to the role. She has proved her worth in the fashion industry and now we want her to show off her acting prowess in a powerful film like ‘Neerja.’ A film with a strong storyline can only work if an actor embeds his heart and soul in the character and we just hope that Sonam manages to do so.

Nikita Thakkar

A strongly opinionated, free-spirited, budding Bollywood journalist, she likes to write anything in her own quirky style. When not running around to get assigned tasks completed, you will find her either painting, indulging in photography or dreaming in the la la land.