The Attacks of 26/11

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The Attacks of 26/11
TheAttacksof 2611.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ram Gopal Varma [1]
Written byRam Gopal Varma
Rommel Rodrigues [2]
Based onKasab: The Face of 26/11 by Rommel Rodrigues
2008 Mumbai Attacks
Produced by Parag Sanghvi [3]
Starring Nana Patekar [4]
Sanjeev Jaiswal
CinematographyHarshraj Shroff
M. Ravichandran Thevar
Music by Amar Mohile
Production
company
Alumbra Entertainment
Distributed by Eros International
Release dates
  • February 2013 (2013-02)(Berlin)
  • 1 March 2013 (2013-03-01)
Running time
116 minutes [5]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹22 crore (US$2.6 million) [6]
Box office7.9cr India 23 cr worldwide

The Attacks of 26/11 is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film [7] directed by Ram Gopal Varma, based on the book Kasab: The Face of 26/11 by Rommel Rodrigues about Ajmal Kasab, then sole surviving perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The film stars Sanjeev Jaiswal in his film debut, playing the role of terrorist Ajmal Kasab, and Nana Patekar as Rakesh Maria, then Joint Commissioner of Police.

Contents

Plot

Cast

Production

On 30 December 2008, the director, Ram Gopal Varma, toured the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel just days after the attacks, drawing widespread condemnation. At the time, Varma called his visit a 'coincidence' and said he had no plans of making a film based on the attacks, but later apologised for his visit prior to the release of the film. [8] [9]

Varma stated that they used sources to research the attacks, including eyewitnesses, police statements, [10] [11] charge sheets and the author of the book, Rommel Rodrigues, whom he described as "a walking encyclopaedia". [11]

Under the art direction of Uday Singh, a replica of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was built with a cost of ₹ 40 million. [12] Varma auditioned 500 applicants and selected Sanjeev Jaiswal to play Ajmal Kasab. [13] The film used real locations [14] and covers the night of 26 November 2008, focusing primarily between 9 PM and 1 AM, when Kasab was caught. [15] The shooting of the film was finished by 11 December 2012 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. [16] [17]

Soundtrack

"Maula Maula" was debuted by Sukhwinder Singh at the Leopold Cafe at 9:30 AM some time before 12 February 2013, the hour when the attacks began. At the event, scenes from the film were shown, Patekar spoke of his experience while shooting the film and two victims of the attack on the cafe were later invited on stage to speak of their experiences. [18] [19]

There are five songs on the soundtrack, of which "Nethutti Ruchi Mariginda" was sang by Varma in the Telugu version of the film. [20]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Maula Maula" Irshad Kamil Sukhwinder Singh, Rooshin Dalal 5:05
2."Aatanki Aaye" Jaspreet Jasz Shreya Ghoshal, Shabab Sabri, Aman Trikha 2:45
3."Khoon Kharaba Tabaahi"Rashid IqbalChaitra Ambadipudi5:54
4."Raghupati Raghav"Irshad KamilChorus5:45
5."Nazam track 26/11" Liaqat Jafri Chorus3:15

Soundtrack reception

Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave it a 2 out of 5 stars, stating that, aside from "Maula Maula", the rest of the songs are "average to hear and may just enhance the film's narrative to some extent". [21]

Marketing

The first seven minutes of the film were released on the YouTube channel of Eros International on 23 November 2012. [22] A special screening of the film was arranged by the director for Karan Johar and Rakesh Maria. [23] The first trailer of Satya 2 was attached with the film. [24]

Release

The first look of the film was revealed on 17 January 2013. [25] [26] The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) passed the film, uncut, with an 'Adults Only' certificate. [27] The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in both the Panorama and Competition sections. [28] [29] It had its theatrical release on 1 March 2013 to mixed reviews from critics, [30] receiving positive reviews when it was shown at the Films Division Auditorium in Delhi, where several politicians were present. [31]

Reception

Firstpost commended Patekar in his role in their review, saying "Nana holds the film together. He feels every line that he utters. His heart bleeds for each one of the 166 people who died on that night. When he tells Kasab in a choked voice, 'I have a son of your age', Nana isn't faking it. His performance goes way beyond acting." [32]

Subhash K. Jha of the Deccan Herald gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling the movie "a work of riveting resonance" and "one of the best films in recent times on the wages of terrorism". [33] Resham Sengar of Zee News called the film "a moving sketch of the dreadful terror attack", and gave the film 4 stars out of 5. [34] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3.5 out of 5 and said that the film was "A powerful retelling of a regrettable event in history". [35] [36]

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel of Rediff.com gave it two and half stars, saying "I have a headache. My ears are still ringing. The nausea is just about abating." [36] Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India said "While the thought is poignant, the horror isn't palpable throughout and the execution doesn't cut as deep as the actual tragedy" and gave it two and half stars. [36]

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 2.5 stars, calling the movie "watchable" and saying "Ram Gopal Varma is still not back to his best and The Attacks of 26/11 isn't an unqualified triumph." [37] In Anupama Chopra's review for the Hindustan Times , the film also received 2.5 stars, remarking that the movie's "powerful subject [is] watered down by ineffective story-telling". [38]

In his review for News18, Rajeev Masand gave the film 1.5 stars, writing that the film "often resembles a tacky B-movie" and was a "tragedy exploited". [39] [40]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "The Attacks of 26/11". The Times of India. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Fernandez, Fiona (10 January 2011). "The face of terror unveiled". Mid Day. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. ↑ Razdan, Esha (31 August 2012). "RGV builds replica of Taj hotel worth 2.5 crores for 26/11". Daily Bhaskar. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Tuteja, Joginder (13 September 2012). "Ramu and Nana reunite after 10 years". Koimoi. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "The Attacks on 26/11". British Board of Film Classification. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Baksi, Dibyojyoti (26 November 2012). "Makers of RGV's next to distribute BO earnings among 26/11 victims' families". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "The Attacks of 26/11". The Times of India. 20 February 2013. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Dubey, Bharati (24 November 2012). "Ram Gopal Varma says sorry for hotel visit post-26/11". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Kumar, Krishna (14 December 2011). "Ram Gopal Varma's Taj hotel tour was indeed for 26/11 movie". India Today. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "Censor will not have issue with The Attacks of 26/11: RGV". Firstpost. 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  11. 1 2 "The Attacks of 26/11 not on Kasab: RGV". The Times of India. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "RGV's film on Mumbai terror attacks faced permission issues". The Times of India. 24 February 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "First Look of Ram Gopal Varma's 'The Attacks of 26/11': See who plays Ajmal Kasab". News18. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  14. ↑ Chaubey, Vedika (7 June 2012). "Sorry, Ramu, you can't shoot 26/11 film at the CST". Mid Day. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Why Ram Gopal Varma changed his film's ending..." The Times of India. 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "26/11 film has changed me: Ram Gopal Varma". The Times of India. Indo-Asian News Service. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "'The Attacks of 26/11' has changed me as a person, says Ram Gopal Varma". CNN-IBN. Indo-Asian News Service. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  18. ↑ Trivedi, Tanvi (20 January 2014). "'Maula Maula' song from 'The Attacks of 26/11' launched at Leopold Cafe in Mumbai". The Times of India. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  19. ↑ "The Attacks of 26/11 music launched at Leopold Cafe". India Today. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  20. ↑ "Ram Gopal Varma turns singer for The Attacks of 26/11". Bollywood Hungama. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  21. ↑ Tuteja, Joginder (18 February 2013). "The Attacks of 26/11 Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  22. ↑ "The Attacks of 26/11: First 7 minutes". MSN. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  23. ↑ "RGV to hold special screening of The Attacks of 26/11 for Rakesh Maria". India Today. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  24. ↑ "'Satya 2' trailer to launch with 'The Attacks of 26/11'". Daily News and Analysis. Indo-Asian News Service. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  25. ↑ "'The Attacks of 26/11' First Look: What exactly happened on that day". CNN-IBN. 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  26. ↑ "The Attacks of 26/11 new poster: Terrorists arrive in a dinghy". BollywoodLife. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  27. ↑ "'The Attacks of 26/11' cleared without cuts". Deccan Herald. Indo-Asian News Service. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  28. ↑ "The Attacks of 26/11: Ram Gopal Varma's film gets selected for Berlin film festival". CNN-IBN. Indo-Asian News Service. 30 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  29. ↑ "Ram Gopal Varma's film selected for Berlin Film Festival". The Indian Express. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  30. ↑ "Critics review The Attacks of 26/11, find it watchable". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  31. ↑ "Advani praises RGV's The Attacks of 26/11, advocates Parliament screening". Hindustan Times. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  32. ↑ "Movie review: RGV's 'The Attacks of 26/11' recreates Mumbai's horrific night". Firstpost. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  33. ↑ Jha, Subhash K. (1 March 2013). "Movie review: The Attacks of 26/11". Deccan Herald. Indo-Asian News Service. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  34. ↑ Sengar, Resham (28 February 2013). "'The Attacks of 26/11' review: A moving sketch of ghastly terror attacks". Zee News. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  35. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (27 February 2013). "The Attacks of 26/11 Movie Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  36. 1 2 3 "Critics review The Attacks of 26/11, find it watchable". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  37. ↑ Chatterjee, Saibal (7 March 2014). "Movie review: The Attacks of 26/11". NDTV Movies. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  38. ↑ Chopra, Anupama (1 March 2013). "Anupama Chopra's review: The Attacks of 26/11". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  39. ↑ Masand, Rajeev (1 March 2013). "'The Attacks of 26/11' review: Ram Gopal Varma sets a one-dimensional, jingoistic and almost hysterical tone". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  40. ↑ Masand, Rajeev (1 March 2013). "A tragedy exploited". RajeevMasand.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
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