MUMBAI: On Wednesday morning, Mumbaikars woke up to realise that boy-terrorist Ajmal Kasab was finally given the punishment the city had desired to give him – hanged till death. And Bollywood had made its reaction known.
“Justice may not replace the feeling of loss but it gives strength & hope to continue life with renewed belief in system we live in,” Bollywood actor Anupam Kher tweeted when word go out.
The execution was completed as silently as Kasab had entered Mumbai. Praising the government’s effort Riteish Deshmukh said “Kasab hanging – congratulations government of India for doing it so effectively. For once the government broke the news and not the news channels.”
Ajmal Amir Kasab was transferred from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai on late Tuesday night to Yerawada Central Jail in Pune. It was then that he was informed that since his mercy plea was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month, he would be executed on Wednesday morning. If sources are to be believed, nine other terrorists who had accompanied Kasab and who were killed, were secretly buried in the city in January 2010.
But Kasab’s execution has come four years after he committed this heinous crime. Many have rued the time taken, and many consider that a fair trial was necessary. Director Kunal Kohli belongs to the former group “Kasab has been hanged! Finally. God forbid there’s a next time we need to hang or execute such terrorists faster.”
Hailing this event as a victory for the country, director Madhur Bhandarkar said “Kasab’s execution is a victory not only for the Mumbaikars who suffered at the hands of terror, but the entire nation.”
At a recent press conference, actor Amitabh Bachchan also praised the government for successfully capturing Kasab, and trying him as per Indian law. He remembered the people who lost their lives, especially the police officers who died protecting the Mumbaikars.
“I am happy the Mumbai police caught him (Kasab), and he was tried according to the Law of the land. It’s very sad that so many people died, now somewhere they have all received a relief, especially the members of the police force who died. Their life was sacrificed for the country,” said the megastar.
However, for Bollywood celebrities who had a personal loss during the 26/11 attacks, this punishment does not bring complete relief. Actor Ashish Chowdhry, who’s sister and nephews were victims of the attacks posted “Why should I rejoice Kasab’s death? I will rejoice when little innocent children will stop being taught to kill in the name of God and Religion.”
He added, “I sympathize with Kasab. He also was once a small innocent baby, like my son. But unfortunately born around wrong people and wrong teachings … In these 4 yrs of waiting and looking upon Kasab’s sentence, I can bet lacs of new Kasab’s were born. Problem lies there. Rejoice when that stops.”
Former beauty queen and model, Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly echoes Ashish Chowdhry’s sentiment “Kasab, you and your mates will burn in hell. Well done government of India. However, the source of the ideology of the fanatics who turn young men into terrorists is still alive.”
Not just Ashish and Celina, but several members of the Indian film fraternity have expressed their reservations on what the execution of one terrorist has achieved when the root of the problem has not been dealt with.
Film Director Anubhav Sinha said, “I only hope there are no more Kasabs being trained elsewhere in the world while we rejoice the execution of one. Not a big fan of capital punishment. But if at all, we must know that Kasab is just the last domino piece to fall. Topple the first one.”
Music director Vishal Dadlani concurs “Almost four years since 26/11, we have learnt or fixed nothing. They could hire any number of new Kasabs. We’d still be sitting ducks, like last time.”
True to his dark nature, director Ram Gopal Varma presented a strong opinion of his own. “Here’s wishing that finally his (Kasab’s) victims souls will rest in peace RIP and Kasab’s soul will roast in hell ROH. Most Indians would have preferred to have seen Kasab being lynched and tortured to death instead of being just hung. If I were to be the hangman I would have shown the pictures of all his victims to Kasab before hanging him.”
