As Hotel Mumbai releases in India, revisiting films on terrorist attacks, from Zero Dark Thirty to Neerja

Eleven years ago, residents of Mumbai woke up to yet another regular Wednesday, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that lay ahead for the later part of the day.

It was a cool night on 26 November, 2008, when 10 heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists brazenly entered Mumbai through the Arabian Sea route in a dinghy.

Minutes later, they launched one of the most brutal terrorist attacks the world has seen, targeting several prime locations in South Mumbai, covering a four to five square kilometre area, leaving India shaken, and the global community shocked.

The attack — at iconic locations such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Hotel Trident, Nariman House, Leopold Café, Cama Hospital, and Wadi Bunder — killed 166 persons and left another 300 injured, besides inflicting massive damage to public and private properties.

Debutant Director Anthony Maras’ upcoming film Hotel Mumbai is inspired by the 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai, and attempts to capture the ghastly 2008 Mumbai attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India. Hotel Mumbai had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018 on 7 September, and  received positive reviews  for its portrayal of the harrowing attack. The narrative of the film unfolds from the perspectives of hotel head chef Hermant Oberoi (Anupam Kher), and a waiter named Arjun (Dev Patel), who strive hard to keep their guests safe from the attacks.

Ahead of the release in India this Friday on 29 November, we revisit some of the movies (in no particular order) which served as a reflection of our chaotic times. These films capture the senseless, ­indiscriminate nature of the massacres, the seemingly unending terror and helplessness of those trapped, the plight of survivors, and the authorities’ utter inability to deal with the events unfolding around them. It is indeed tough for a filmmaker to portray terrorism on celluloid and to unveil its sheaths carefully to send across a message.

Neerja

Directed by Ram Madhvani, starring Sonam Kapoor Ahuja in the titular role, Neerja tells the story of Neerja Bhanot, a 23-year-old senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73, when four armed men hijacked the plane at Karachi airport on 5 September, 1986. She helps passengers, including young children and the elderly, escape through the emergency exit, before she was finally shot dead by one of the gunmen. Bhanot was awarded the prestigious Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime military award for bravery posthumously.

Body of Lies

Based on David Ignatius’ 2007 novel, Body of Lies is an espionage spy thriller about officer Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), a Chief Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operative working in Iraq, and trying to gather lethal information on Islamic terrorist cells to reach their mastermind Al Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). He is backed by his boss in the US, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), who exploits Roger’s local contacts but finds them disposable. Crowe was the strategist, based in Washington DC, sending instructions on a cellphone, while taking his kids for basketball. DeCaprio was the action hero who enters the battlefield in the infamous axis of evil.

Dil Se

Dil Se, written and directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala, is one of the rarest Hindi films from mainstream fold that camouflages the socio-political commentary while delicately blending the elements of romance and suspense. Dil Se is third in Mani Ratnam’s trilogy of films (following Roja and Bombay) revolving around couples/lovers caught in the turmoil of politics and terrorism.

Another element worth mentioning from the film is it travels far North-East to present a troubled territory overrun by armed insurgents and the Indian Army. Amar (Khan), an All India Radio executive, travels to Assam on an assignment to gather on-the-ground impressions about the state. However, along the way he falls in love with a mysterious woman Meghna (Koirala). It is a doomed love affair for Meghna is a part of terrorist group, working to ‘strike a blow’ against India, which is seen as a violent aggressor in her native North-Eastern state.

The Report

Written and directed by Scott Z Burns, The Report follows a Senate staffer investigating claims of torture by the CIA, following the harrowing 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US. The film, starring Adam Driver, Annette Bening, and Ted Levine among others, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it opened to rave reviews.

The Report is based on the true story of Dan Jones, the lead investigator on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report, who worked tirelessly under the leadership of Dianne Feinstein, to piece together and document the CIA’s rendition, detention, and interrogation program, which ran from 2002 to 2008. The film contains many important insights into the background and context of the torture report, and how it was eventually produced.

Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty is a combination of war movie, thriller, and docudrama about the intense, years-long hunt for Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 attacks, from the filmmakers behind The Hurt Locker. Jessica Chastain plays Maya, a staunch, no-nonsense CIA analyst, whose 12 years at the agency were lasersighted solely on nailing Bin Laden.

Zero Dark Thirty was nominated in five categories at the 85th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Chastain, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It won the award for Best Sound Editing, shared with Skyfall. It also earned Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, with Chastain winning the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Rogan Josh

Directed by Sanjeev Vig, Rogan Josh is an attempt to depict the adversities of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks on the families of the victims. The 17-minute short film takes a poignant, microcosmic look at the damages that the terrorist attack caused to one family.

A man named Vijay (Naseeruddin Shah) cooks up a feast – the titular Kashmiri dish to bring in his 65th birthday with his family. On the table, sits his elegant wife (Avantika Akerkar), his boisterous best friend (Shishir Sharma), the friend’s younger girlfriend (Shriswara), and his pensive son (Bhuvan Arora). Vijay, who is a professional chef, having served his famed dish at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, is very particular and precise when it comes to his dish.

The entire film  is shot inside a house, restricted to the dinner table where often Indian households chose to engage in important conversations. Sticking to the magnitude of 26-11 that happened at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, viewers witness Vijay’s family unfold silences, secrets, stories, power equations, and ’truths’ in a rather gut-wrenching and uncomfortable manner.