MUMBAI: What happens when a veteran television director and a producer watch terrorists hijack Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel and bomb its beautiful heritage structure? They collaborate and make a movie about it.
At least that’s what happened when Star Plus producer Anupama Mandlo approached Sidharth Sengupta, 41, the director of the popular television serial Balika Vadhu, to direct a television film on 26/11. He was immediately on board.
“The whole television fraternity was so shaken up last year after the 26/11 attacks. Everyone wanted to contribute in whatever way they could,” says Sengupta. “I knew that we had access to a powerful medium that could reach the entire nation and make a real impact. Most importantly, at a time like this, it was imperative to start giving back to society.” Sengupta didn’t want the film to be a recapitulation of the attacks. Instead, he felt that exploring the issue of hate and how to rise above it would have the most impact on viewers. “I wanted the story to delve into the emotions of the victims’ families, to focus on the people who have been left behind, what their lives are like, what their daily struggles are,” he says. “If only people would understand that no one wins here. That when you’re fuelled by hate, you just leave behind a minefield of suffering.” The film titled Un Hazaaron Ke Naam takes you through a series of heartrending portrayals and anecdotes, from the chef at the Oberoi who was shot while talking to his mother played by Seema Biswas, to the Taj Hotel’s general manager who lost his family but doesn’t neglect the victims at the CST or Nariman House. Actor Vinod Khanna plays a father-in-law who goes to CST station with his son, daughter-in-law and grandchild when the terrorists gun down the parents leaving Khanna holding his distraught grandchild.
Then there is Chotu Chaiwala, a small boy who darts nimbly between trains to serve passengers tea on the station. He works with the police to identify the terrorists and helps get medical aid to the victims.
This is Sengupta’s first film and according to him the greatest challenge has been unearthing accurate data. “We got as much information as we could from the Internet, books and first-hand interviews but we had problems getting people to come out and unflinchingly speak their mind.” As a result, while the film is based on true stories, the credits state that it is a fictionalised account.
Sengupta knows it’s idealistic to expect terrorists to be converted when they watch the film but nevertheless hopes that it acts as a small candle that will illuminate the darkness.
“It’s an optimistic thought and I know it’s a difficult message to convey but if we can eradicate the mental divisions of race, religion and colour and get even one person to convert from a viewpoint of anger to the understanding that we are all the same, I think I will have achieved what I set out to do,” he says.
The film will be aired on Star Plus on Thursday at 10 pm.
(The writer is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai)