Shabana Azmi

Neerja is the incredible true story of the courageous Neerja Bhanot, a 23-year-old flight attendant from Chandigarh, who risked her life while protecting the lives of 359 passengers from terrorists on the Pan Am flight 73 in 1986. She became the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra in India. This is also the story of a girl and her family. Neerja and her mother Rama - a bond so delicately structured, brave and indulgent, and a constant light for Neerja, as she quietly battled hijackers.

Midnight's Children is an epic film from Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the Booker Prize winning novel by Salman Rushdie. At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, as India proclaims independence from Great Britain, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. Saleem Sinai, the illegitimate son of a poor woman, and Shiva, the offspring of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destiny meant for each other. Their lives become mysteriously intertwined and are inextricably linked to India’s whirlwind journey of triumphs and disasters.

Harry is an industrialist who loves his daughter Bijlee, and the bond they share with Harry's man friday, Matru. Bijlee's plan to wed the son of a politician, however, brings twists and turns in the lives of Matru, Bijlee and Mandola.

A film like Umrao Jaan is not for the laity. The movie's setting (19th century Lucknow), its story, its characters and the dialogues they speak, nothing conforms to the cinematic tastes of a contemporary viewer. Yet the heart-rending tale of Umrao Jaan stands out for a sensitive viewer to empathize with. And full credit should be given to J.P. Dutta for sensible, skillful direction and to Aishwarya Rai for her emphatic performance.Umrao Jaan is the story of a woman whose life is filled with one misfortune after another.