Maverick Director Ram Gopal Varma is back with a bang,this time with his ambitious project- The attacks of 26/11. The film that is made based on 26/11 attacks on mumbai has made enough news even before it was made when RGV visited Taj Hotel along with Ex- Maharashtra CM. He has since made the film and did a screening of 15 minute footage to the Mumbai police and victims. His latest film is now selected for Berlin Film Festival. We spoke to him on this occasion. The Excerpts of the Interview is as follows.
Q. Sir, Congratulations on the occasion of your film ‘The 26/11 Attacks’ getting selected for Berlin International Film Festival.
RGV- Thank you.
Q. Sir, you have released 7 minutes of footage of the film shot by you on 26/11. In the days when people are releasing a 30 second teasers, this is a big move. This is being considered as another path breaking act by RGV in Indian Cinema. How did you think about this? What prompted you to release 7 minute footage?
RGV- A trailer is generally intended to tell the viewer what the story of the film is about but in the case of ‘the attacks of 26/11′ pretty much everyone knows what the story is about. So I thought it’s much more pertinent to give a pretty clear picture of the feel of the film rather than telling what the film is all about. For instance many people would have known that the terrorists came from the sea and hijacked a boat but very few would know the details of what happened on the boat. It’s these kinds of details what the film is about.
Q.I have never seen you putting any disclaimers in any of your movies. Here you have started your trailer with a disclaimer that this film is not against any of the religions. Was that done to dispel any doubts and avoid controversies?
RGV- Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issues surrounding religions and communities and because of my strong belief that those attacks were against humanity I just wanted to make the intent of why I made the film crystal clear to all concerned.
Q.You have screened the 15 minute footage to the policemen and people linked with the incident. Was that done to avoid controversy or to gain sympathy or a mere publicity as claimed by some of your betrayers?
RGV- To start with I never denied that I don’t do things for publicity. Publicity is nothing but drawing attention to your cause which in anyway is the purpose of making the film itself.The reason I showed them is because of the extraordinary co operation they offered me in the making of this film and to that extent all those who I showed the film are pretty much a part of this film.
Q.This is one incident that the entire nation watched on TV and of course has got extensive coverage on various media. Most of people know in and out of what exactly has happened on 26/11. What more can audience expect from this film?
RGV- Like I mentioned everyone knows what happened but no one knows how it happened. Starting from a detail of the Joint commissioner of crime taking a shower when the attack first started at Leopold cafe to the experience of a constable huddled in the back seat of the qualis in which Salaskar, Kamte and Karkare got killed there are many such that u will see in this film
Q. There are some people who say RGV has this habit of showing bad guys as heroes in his movies and their doubt is if you have projected Kasab as the hero in this film. What would be your take on this?
RGV- Romanticizing criminals is an allegation that I have always faced ever since I made Satya. But according to me to show the human aspect is the only way one can ever begin to understand the true nature of a criminal .But understanding should not be mistaken for empathy and awe.
Q.Many people say that RGV is a publicity monger and that why he has released the footage of 26/11 once Kasab is hanged. Is that true that the release of footage is done at the time of Kasab’s hanging to get mileage out of the same or is it mere co-incidence?
RGV- Its pure coincidence and the proof of that is that we did the launch just 2 days after the hanging which means technically it couldn’t have been possible for us to prepare for the launch in that quick a time.Having said that if I knew of it I would have still done it.
Q. You had visited Taj Hotel after 26/11 which has created a major controversy. There were many gossips that you are making a film on 26/11 and hence you visited the site. Although you denied the same immediately, you are making a film on 26/11 finally. Was your denial about film then was just to divert attention? At what point have you decided to make the film on 26/11?
RGV- Ever since it happened I gave an explanation numerous times on this that if I visited the place just a day after the incident what could I have possibly known which at that time even the police dint know as investigation was still yet to begin. The reason I am making it now is because the investigation is complete and the truth has been pronounced by the highest authorities.
Q. You said that you have done a lot of research on this subject and also met victims and relatives of victims and spoke to them. Did you meet them once you decided to make the film or you have decided to make this film after being moved by their pain and agony?
RGV- Yes I met them only after I decided to make the film but in the course of my meetings with them my view points towards the film and also my understanding of those attacks have changed.
Q. What was the response of the victims to your proposal of making this film? Did anyone say NO?
RGV- The truth of any matter is obviously understood by different people from different perspectives. So it’s but natural that they will have their strong viewpoints .Nobody said NO but yes they had their individual views on what points should be highlighted.
Q. There are many who say that this film can open up old wound and create resentment among mumbaikars as you will be reminding them of those 2 days that changed their lives?
RGV- That is a baseless and juvenile assumption because at the end of the day anybody will want to know the truth behind such life changing events like 26/11 so that they can understand the issue better.
Q.RGV is one person who is not known to show his emotions in public. The perception is built around you possibly based on your interactions on social media and blogs. Many are also surprised at your comments recently on 26/11. You said in an interview that you are moved by the emotions of victims and that has brought tears in your eyes. In another you said this is an attack on humanity. How did this incident affect you as a film maker and what made you emote so strongly that you haven’t done earlier?
RGV- A person is nothing but a sum total of his/her experiences whether they are physical intellectual or emotional…with regard to 26/11 I might not have had a first hand experience with those incidents but I lived them through hearing and feeling the pain of those people who were involved and that surely made me change as a person from whom I was.It opened me up to emotions which I was so far callous about and I think this change surely will reflect both in my films and also in my personality.
Q. The other surprise we had is about your response to Kasab’s hanging. You said it’s a happy ending for 26/11 and we all were not expecting such a simple reaction from some one like RGV. This is like one of the common men like us talking. I mean since you talk philosophy or should I say logically most of the time, we were probably expecting a very logical answer. Was that response given in the back ground of your film or you genuinely felt that it’s a happy ending for 26/11 with Kasab’s death?
RGV- The most correct and happy ending for 26/11 obviously will be that an inhuman killer like Kasab be punished for the multiple murders he committed thereby giving at least a semblance of justice to the families of those who have been affected by him.
Q. In one of the Interview earlier you said that this is your best work. How can you say that this is your best?
RGV- To start with I don’t think of ‘The attacks of 26/11′ as just a film.It’s a representation of the most horrific incident which happened in post independent India and from what source material I had with me I think I have done near complete justice to the film and that is why I think it’s my best work.
Q.This is a universal subject. Do you have plans to release this film in other languages also?
RGV- Yes the intention is to dub it in as many languages as possible because people no matter who they are deserve to know the truth behind those attacks. We also made an English version of it which we are planning to release internationally
Q. Thanks a lot for your time and we hope that the effort you have taken in taking this subject to people would succeed and we hope that we won’t see such incidents repeating again.
RGV- Thanks
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