Happy Birthday Neerja: Lesser-known facts about the braveheart flight attendant who sacrificed her own life to save 360 others

A young woman who gave her life to safeguard her passengers at the age of 24. When her plane, Pan Am Flight 73, was hijacked on its way to the United States, she saved every single person on board, except for herself. This Brave heart was only 22 when shot dead on 5th September 1986.

Neerja Bhanot was born on September 7th, 1963, and is the youngest recipient of India's highest peacetime medal for valor, the Ashok Chakra.

Here are few unknown facts about Neerja which everyone should be aware of our National Hero

She was born in Chandigarh on September 7, 1962, to Harish and Rama Bhanot.

Her father used to work as a journalist. Her parents had wished for a daughter for a long time.And when they were blessed with Neerja they couldn’t believe and asked the nurse twice if it was a baby girl.

At the age of 16, Neerja Bhanot was recognized by a magazine. She became a supermodel as a result of her beauty and talent while appearing in a number of adverts. She later began her modelling career in Bombay and had a successful modelling career and was a big fan of Rajesh Khanna, the late actor.

In 1985, Neerja married and relocated to the Gulf. The marriage, however, did not work out. Because she was being repeatedly harassed, starved and insulted for dowry demands, that is when she decided to end the marriage and came back to her parents home.

Neerja applied for a flight attendant position with Pan Am. She travelled to Miami for training and returned as a successful purser (chief flight attendant). She was picked up in the top 80 out of 10,000 applicants by Pan Am.

Neerja was asked by the hijackers of Pan Am Flight 73 to acquire all the passengers' passports so that they could identify the Americans. She cleverly concealed the Americans' passports, saving their lives.

She left for her cabin crew duty 25 hours before she turned 24. When Neerja unlocked the emergency exit, she could have rescued herself, but it didn't go right with her. She made the decision to be the last person to leave, whether alive or dead.

She got India's highest civilian accolade for bravery, the Ashoka Chakra, in 1987. And became the  youngest and first female recipient.

The movie 'Neerja' was filmed in 2016 and was inspired by her life and heroism. Sonam Kapoor stars in the film, which was directed by Ram Madhvani.

Neerja Bhanot’s modeeling carrer:

 Neerja was also an excellent and elegant model. Few people are aware that, while working as a purser, Neerja also experimented in modelling for several brands and publications.

Take a look at some of her ads.