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MUMBAI: Controversy’s child, Indian filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma launched the first look of his film recently. The film, ‘The Attacks Of 26/11’, revolves around the gruesome and horrifying terror attacks on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists, four years ago. And the first look came very soon after news of Kasab’s hanging.
The filmmaker has managed to make this film, despite criticism and disbelief from general society. People felt this would be exploitation of the tragic events of the night, and to glorify these attacks on celluloid would be insensitivity towards the innocent people who lost their lives, that fateful night and their surviving families.
However, the film is nearly complete and RGV stands by his decision. He screened the first look of the film for the media and the families of the victims, the survivors and their families and the policemen who fought valiantly with the terrorists.
The reaction of the 15-minute first look was that of sorrow of remembrance, where the audience was overwhelmed and overcome with emotion. While few maintained that it took them back to the days they were trying to erase, a pint-sized wonderkid Devika responsible for nailing Kasab was vocal when she said, “Such films are the need of the hour. Kasab’s hanging should be made public so that people actually believe he has been hanged. I want it to be a lesson to all terrorists.”
Ram Gopal Varma, however, defended his decision to create the film, “I had never intended to make a film at that point when I went there. What could I have possibly seen at that place what the media had not already been showing ever since? I never ever intended to make a film on those attacks when I went to The Taj. Why now? Now after all these years, after the whole truth has been uncovered by the investigators and by the virtue of an extensive knowledge I have gathered from various sources about the actual truths behind those attacks from both authorized and eye witness accounts, I developed a desire to film the actual story of those attacks the attacks began.”
Present at the first look screening were Parag Sanghavi, survivors Arun Jadhav, Devika, Mr. Gangwani, Ajit Nalawade, Prashant Das and Mr. Farhan of Leopold Café, which was attacked mercilessly that night. The event was, of course, under heavy security cover.
Watch the first 7 minutes here:
