Actress Sonam Kapoor, who has been named for the National Film Award — Special Mention for “Neerja”, says the honour is an encouragement for her to do more content-driven movies. “It feels amazing. I honestly did not expect it. I think I have been doing content-driven films for a couple of years right now, but obviously it (National Award) is an encouragement to doing more of them.”

The 31-year-old actress, who will receive the award in the capital on Wednesday, said it is very important for her. “It is such a a huge validation for doing a film like ‘Neerja’, but at the same time it was more important to make a film like ‘Neerja’ which spoke about human spirit and compassion. A film like ‘Neerja’ winning an award says that human spirit and human compassion and kindness at the end of the day should be our purpose,” she said.

Sonam will be accompanied with her father and actor Anil Kapoor and mother Sunita for the event. “My parents are coming with me. I think they are very excited. I am more happy for them and for Ram (director Ram Madhvani) because I think Ram really wanted me to win the award and I think my parents are very proud,” she added.

“Neerja” is a biographical thriller film, whose plot centers on the hijacking of a Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 1986. It tells the heroic tale of Neerja Bhanot, an air hostess, who lost her life while saving others.

IANS

Star or no star, big screen or the computer screen — it was film and digital content backed by good and compelling story-lines that drew the audience’s attention in 2016, when formulaic sequels and even some ambitious dramas failed to make it big.

While some small-budget films generated unexpected results, some star-driven movies didn’t excite the audience and, instead, growing takers of online viewing added a new dimension to film watching.

This is the year when sequels of hit films, earlier considered as money spinners, failed at the box office. “Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive”, “Tum Bin II”, “Rock On 2” and “Kahaani 2” didn’t do as well as their first instalments.

“Rock On 2” was the first movie to release after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the central government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. And that had a direct effect on the box office earnings of the movie, which had an approximate budget of Rs 45 crore, and reportedly earned Rs 15.67 crore.

Real-life inspired stories were brought to screen with films like “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”, “Airlift”, “Rustom” and “Dangal” — all of which did well.

“The stories of ‘Neerja’ and ‘Airlift’ are truly inspirational and celebrate heroism. I think the mass audience still loves to watch a hero who wins the battle facing all odds. So there is an instant audience connect,” Apurva Asrani, writer and editor of “Aligarh”.

Some highly ambitious films like Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Mirzya” and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Fan” failed to impress critics and the masses alike.

At a time when success is coming to films like “Neerja” and “Pink”, which send out relevant messages in a style that is as commercially viable but yet worthy of critical acclaim, there is also a film like “Aligarh”, which gets lauded by critics but does not set the cash registers ringing.

Explaining this, Asrani said: “Two very important things should be taken under consideration while judging the success of a sensitive film like ‘Aligarh’. First, the intention of making the film was not box office success.

“Secondly, the audience of this kind of experimental, sensitive film is also outside the theatres. They are watching them on the digital platforms like Netflix and at special screenings during film festivals. Those are some of the ways to reach out to people.”

Saiwyn Quadras, co-writer of the Sonam Kapoor starrer “Neerja”, feels the audience prefers to watch films on topics like homosexuality, online rather than in theatres.

“That might affect the box office, but not the reach of the film, he said, adding: “Online viewership extends the life of a film after its release in theaters. That is one of the reasons why so many avenues are opening for digital release of a film and the numbers are growing fast.”

The digital route is finding many takers.

Production banner Eros International releases films on its online channel Eros Now before their TV premiere. Even Amazon is opening its platform for digital release of films and, most recently, Shah Rukh’s home banner Red Chillies Entertainment has collaborated with Netflix for the exclusive viewing of the superstar’s movies.

So, is the progressive audience shifting medium from theater to online?

“Whether a movie is a hit or a flop is always decided based on box office collection as that is the faster way to recover all the invested money of the film for a producer. The online views do not count as revenue for box office or the immediate business of the film.

“Satellite and online viewers are not investing (much) money to watch a film,” said film trade expert Komal Nahta.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny that the audience is changing and they are receptive to good stories.

Nahta said: “The audience is evolving, and ‘Pink’ is an example of that. It has done good business at the box office. It is a good thing that stars like Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor are doing different roles.

“But you see, without Akshay, ‘Airlift’ could have been made and considered as a good film, but it would not have become such a big film… Stars make that happen,” Asrani said of Bollywood’s ever-prevalent ‘star’ system.

Rightfully so.

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IANS

Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor will be feted with the Best Actress honour for her performance in the biopic “Neerja” at the Asia Vision Movie Awards.

The actress will be presented the honour at the 11th Edition of the Asia Vision Movie Awards, to be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, read a statement issued on behalf of Sonam.

Watch : Sonam Kapoor admits she’s only 12th pass | her favourite co-star – Aamir Khan

Directed by Ram Madhvani, “Neerja” featured Sonam as Neerja Bhanot, who had lost her life while saving others on a hijacked Pan Am plane.

Sonam has already won some accolades for her performance in the film, and was lauded by critics for her role.

Also Read : ‘Sonam most experimental; Priyanka redefined modern women’s image’

On the work front, Sonam is gearing up for her next “Veere Di Wedding”, which also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Swara Bhaskar.

IANS