Night of terror revisited, relived

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A still from RGV’s The Attacks of 26/11

Right after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma hit the headlines for visiting the attacked Taj Hotel with then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his son Ritesh Deshmukh. The filmmaker was panned for his insensitivity from all quarters, as rumours were rife that he had plans to make a movie on the attacks and had used his contacts to visit the site. The film never happened then.

Cut to 2013 and here he is with a film on the barbaric night. The Attacks of 26/11 is a film by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Nana Patekar (who portrays the role of assistant commissioner of police, Rakesh Maria) that shows the attacks of that night on multiple sites that include the Leopold Café, The Taj Hotel and Shivaji Chhatrapati Terminus.
Varma says his visit to The Taj wasn’t the reason for making the film. “As individuals, we have some responsibilities towards the society. The Mumbai terror attacks were something very tragic. Through this film I want to send out a message of unity,” says Varma who was in the capital with Nana to promote the film. He adds that a lot of research went into making the film and it took a lot to reconstruct the scenes. Also incorporated in the movie is the arrest and execution of Ajmal Kasab, the sole attacker who was captured alive.
Varma says that it was difficult to find an actor who looks like Kasab and could do the role with conviction. But finally, he found Sanjeev Jaiswal, an aspiring actor, for the part. “It took a lot of time to find him,” he says and adds that the other character who is well-etched in the film is Maria and Nana was the first choice for it.
Ask Nana how much did he prepare and research for the role, and he casually replies, “Nothing.” “When you do a film as an actor you leave everything to the director. It’s his responsibility to research about the role and guide the actor to do it properly,” says Nana, who is good friends with Maria. “But I never spoke to Maria about this role. I know him personally and I just tried to get the attitude that he may have carried during the interrogation,” he adds.
The controversies that surrounded RGV after the attacks don’t bother Nana at all. “I share a good relationship with him but I don’t really care about his relationship with others. It’s the movie and his concept that matters to me the most,” he says.