Back in 2008, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma found himself embroiled in a big controversy when he accompanied former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his actor son Riteish for a visit to Taj, one of the prime spots of the gruesome terror attacks that Mumbai witness. Back then the filmmaker fervently denied any rumour of making a film on the untoward event. However, nearly five years after, RGV finally comes with his docu-drama on the gory happening that scarred the nation forever.

RGV’s The Attacks of 26/11 takes off with Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria’s (Nana Patekar) narrating a scene by scene happening of the catastrophic incident. The ominous day was 26th of November, 2008 when a group of ten terrorists furtively entered Mumbai through sea shores and within no time attacked 12 prominent spots crumbling the city’s law system and holding it to ransom.

To start with, The Attacks of 26/11 comes much later in the time by when there have been many adaptations through films, documentaries as well televised series. Hence it is but fair for the audience to expect nothing less than a water-tight, highly informative and emotionally stirring depiction of the event that shook the nation. However, RGV’s attempt at capturing the appalling event can easily be divided in two parts – one that merely projects a reenactment of the terror attacks and the other that takes a preachy stance, demystifying the true essence of Jihaad and Muslim religion for the nth time.

There isn’t an iota of doubt that encapsulating the callous attacks of such grave scale could be an easy task for any filmmaker. However, the tragic occurance was far from a mere series of events. Only if our Indian filmmakers could go beyond the basics, like Katherine Bigelow, and present a far more informative and well-researched cinematic adaptation of the attacks.

Ram Gopal Varma instead resorts to some of the most cliched means by deploying some jingoistic elements, some blood spewing, in-your-face gore, long monologues on Shahadat, hell and heaven by Kasab and then a preachy, almost bore-you-to-death monologue on Jihaad by Rakesh Maria towards the end, that too in the morgue standing atop the plastic-wrapped rotting dead bodies of the terrorists to add to the effects and gives a highly Bollywoodish melodramatic touch towards the end with the usage of the musical piece Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram making people stand in the memory of the ones lost.

To throw in some face value to the film RGV also ropes in Atul Kulkarni for a cursory appearance mostly to take a few bullets on his chest and fall flat on the ground in a perfect, actor-ish pose.

Although very insipid in representation, your respite comes in the film with RGV moving away from his rogue cinematography tactics. Although his camera does go bonkers in the initial sequences of the boat where the camera appears to be getting squashed like a tire between two boats, RGV soon controls and represses his urge for the headspinning shots.

If that be the biggest highpoint of the film considering some of his previous works, even his representation of certain elements deserve to be lauded. For example, the way people reach out to help the victims of Leopold Café is shot brilliantly and celebrates the spirit of Mumbai. Also the portions that show JCP Rakesh Maria’s vulnerability of being inept to handle such a mortifying situation are commendable.

Nana Patekar as Rakesh Maria finds it difficult to come to his elements with all the languidly spoken dialogues but you do see glimpses of his excellence during the scenes of attacks. Debutant actor Sanjeev Jaiswal is impressive as Ajmal Kasab and gives a crackling performance specially in his interrogation scene.

The Attacks of 26/11 may certainly not be a film that will go down in the history as an epic adaptation of the ghastly terror attacks but it sure isn’t also a film that doesn’t move you at all. I give the film 2.5 stars

By Swati Rohatgi