Movie Review : The Attacks of 26/11, a film by RGV
The 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai were indeed one of worst & scariest attacks in the history of mankind. It’s been almost 5 years , but those 60 hours of terror are still alive in the memories of every Indian !
The Attacks of 26/11 is Ram Gopal Varma’s attempt to perhaps relive those tense moments, and pay a tribute to the martyrs who lost their lives while encountering the terrorists.
The film begins with Nana Patekar, who plays the Joint Chief Police Commissioner, Mumbai making his official statement to the enquiry committee, thereby narrating the entire series of incidents, that occurred. How the plot unfolds hereon, forms the crux of the story.
The intent of the film is made pretty clear right in the beginning. In spite of few cinematic liberties, & certain facts being ignored, the story follows a simple style of narration without too many twist & turns.
Cinematography by M Ravichandra Thevar & Hansraj Shroff is simply outstanding. The scenes depicting continuous firing & subsequent blood bath at the CST & Taj are immensely disturbing. It’s indeed difficult to digest such dark, inhumane stuff.
The soundtrack / background music by Anil Mohile is the backbone of the film. Maula Maula penned by Irshad Kamil voiced by Sukhwinder & Rooshin Dalal sends a chill down your spine.
Coming to the performances, the legendary Nana Patekar excels in a pivotal role, with a pretty restrained body language, and mouthing some of the epic dialogues, in his typical style. Newcomer Sanjeev Jaiswal, plays Ajmal Kasab with utmost ease & conviction. Pretty believable & too good for his debut ! Leopold Cafe Owner, Farzad Jehani plays himself in the film, and does well.
Other actors viz. Atul Kulkarni, Jitendra Joshi, Ganesh Yadav, & Ravi Kale provide adequate support, but have hardly any screen presence.
In the last few years, Ram Gopal Varma seemed to have lost his charm considering his recent works viz, Not a love story, Department, Bhoot Returns, etc.
With this film, Ramu does make a decent comeback, although this is isn’t among his best works.
For a man who made all time cult ‘crime’ classics viz. Shiva, Satya, Sarkar, Company,etc. 26/11 is one of his just above average works !
On the whole, worth a watch.
Rating: ***
We The People 