The Attacks of 26/11

The Attacks of 26/11 (Review) - Director Ram Gopal Varma had created quite a controversy when he visited the actual site where the terror attacks had happened way back in 2008. All the observations made back then alongwith the developments since then have been put together to make "The Attacks of 26/11". The director took a very different path at the first place in publicising his movie by not releasing a trailer or a first look. He directly released the first 7 minutes of the movie and that created quite an interest about what the final product would be like. The movie clearly shows how the 10 terrorists from Pakistan made their way into Mumbai by sea by threatening and taking help of few Indian fishermen. What transpired after the terrorists came into Mumbai is one of the dark chapters that the world witnessed. The level of crime and offence that was inflicted by the terrorists on Mumbai and its people were as horrendous as it could get. Ram Gopal Varma has done a lot of home work as he manages to recreate all the scenes that occurred at Leopold Cafe, The Taj, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus etc.. very well on screen. The performances of the actors stand out in a couple of scenes, one such scene wherein a constable sitting and crying helplessly amidst the dead bodies at the CST. Nana Patekar as the Joint Commissioner of Police plays his role to perfection. In fact, it is his statements about the incidents around which the movie revolves. His performance in the scene where he tells Kasab as to what Islam really is, with controlled aggression, is praiseworthy. Not much importance has been given to the NSG commandos who played a huge role in fighting the terrorists apart from a couple of mentions here and there. Sanjeev Jaiswal who plays Kasab has done a decent job with his performance. He fits the role perfectly and also resembles Kasab a lot. The cinematography is good in a couple of sequences. As much praiseworthy as the performances are, the same cannot be said about the screenplay. Even though the run time of 2 Hours of the movie does not bore you at any instant, it is definitely not as hard hitting or as satisfying as it deserved to be. It just lacks that zing that would have otherwise given you a satisfying watch. All said and done, Ram Gopal Varma's "The Attacks of 26/11" may not be a must watch as expected but it is definitely nothing short of "worth a watch". The movie can certainly be considered a tribute to all those innocent ones who lost their lives in these horrendous sequence of events and apart from the movie, a big SALUTE to all those from the armed forces who fought against terrorism. My verdict - 6/10.

Long time after Sarkar, RGV has made, not great but, a movie which will hold you tightly to your seat with a sequence of shocking, painful, disturbing but true events.

Based on the facts disclosed by Rakesh Maria (then Joint Commissioner of Police, Mumbai Police. Now Chief of Anti Terrorist Squad, Maharashtra) to Investigation Committee regarding the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai, story is narrated by Nana Patekar who played the role of Rakesh Maria. Nana as usual has given an outstanding performance but other characters in movie lacked badly the acting skills. Sajeev Jaiswal, as Ajmal Kasab, was undoubtedly a good choice to play the role but overacted in a sequence where he was interrogated by Nana. The scene where Nana as police officer takes Ajmal to mortuary and shows the dead bodies of others terrorists is the most outstanding scene of the movie with marvellous dialogue delivery by Nana. RGV also tried smartly to infuse some moral dialogues to avoid hurting any religious sentiments and conveyed a message that terrorism is just a product of some ruthless insane minds and not of any community or religion.

The script lacked some deep emotions. It was all about killing and butchering of people all over the city. Audience would have liked to know something more about the terrorists and reason behind making them into such killing machines.

It's highly recommended to watch this movie only if you are interested to know the truth and mentally prepared to see enormous bloodshed, others should know that this is not one that can be enjoyed with popcorn.

'The Attacks of 26/11' - is very good featured movie, in my opinion. I definitely recommend this movie to every youth or if you like Ram's movie. i really liked the scene of this movie where 'Joint Commissioner of Police' - Nana Patekar explained the meaning of Jihad for those who as Kasab.

Actually salient Hindi movie. this is a Hindi crime-thriller film, based on the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Directed by Ram Gopal Varma and Sanjeev Jaiswal who plays the role of terrorist Ajmal Kasab.

We get to know the extent to which Kasab is brain-washed and given a falsified understanding of Islam in the name of Jihad. Nana's wondrous reactions during this episode are marked. Such scenes show the class that RGV is capable of, even though he has been aided by the performances of Nana and Sanjeev Jaiswal as Kasab. Though the characterization of the terrorists is pretty hollow with just black shades written all over them, Sanjeev is authentic as the evil incarnate Kasab who realizes his foibles as he is finally hung on 21st November 2012.

If only acting of other characters (Nana Patekar stands out as usual) have been up to the line, this could have been a great movie. The narrative in voice of Nana Patekar is really able to bind you with each and every scene. Some of the events are overly explained and acting of Kasab (Sanjeev) disappoints. The best part of movie is where Joint Commissioner of Police and Kasab are in face to face (happens twice). In first one, RGV is able to bring out the mindset of terrorists and meaning of jihad for them, In the second one, he is able to narrate the falsehood in the theory of jihad and extremist characteristics of religion. It has bollywoodiya style of telling the story but that's OK because its not a documentary, it's a commercial cinema movie.

Why watch: If you are like thriller and action (too much gunshots, bloodshed). If you are fan of Nana Patekar's acting and RGV's movies.

Why not watch: If you like romantic and tadk-bhadak movies. If you are thinking it as documentary on 26/11 attacks.

Any story based on real-life events can only connect if it has a soul thereby making an instant connect with the audience. In the case of "The Attacks of 26/11" only after Kasab is captured the human side begins to surface. Until this point in time, the entire proceedings seem to be a documentary devoid of any emotion what so ever. If the writer/ director would have addressed this right from the first frame "The Attacks of 26/11" would have been a different experience altogether.

Sanjeev Jaiswal as Kasab is first class. Delivers a master-piece performance. Atul Kulkarni was wasted in a minuscule role and perhaps warranted better footage. Nana Patekar comes alive only after the capture of Kasab and is a treat to watch him portray the Joint Police Comissioner. Pre-dominantly "The Attacks of 26/11" appears to Rakesh Maria's version of what happened back then.

Yes, its a great attempt but could have been definitely better.