After treading among genres like romance (Rangeela), to political films in the Sarkar series, to the recent horror film Phoonk 2 among a lot others, Ram Gopal Varma has now made The Attacks of 26/11, based on the Mumbai terror attacks and his most ambitious film till date. The director is gung ho about the way his most emotional film has shaped up though he believes that this movie is not something to be happy about. In a candid conversation with Tellychakkar.com, Varma gives an insight to the making of his film. Excerpts: From where did you source the information before venturing into making of The Attacks of 26/11? (smiles) First of all I would like to tell you that the intention of the film produced by Alumbra Entertainment and Eros International is to tell something that people do not know about. But I would rightly say that they may know what happened but do not know how that happened and how is the detailing in the emotional context. For example, let me tell you a story of a particular person who was an eye witness to this grave incident. This is the story that happened at Leopold Cafe. We have picked up the story from there and have portrayed what he or she must have experienced; and have related the same emotionally. So, I have not tried to suggest any conspiracy theory or tell something which is not on public record. My film is only the recorded version of the true event. The entire information has been sourced from an authorised person. You may know of the hijacked boat but do you know what happened on it? My film is all of it. Does your film carry any real footage? The trailers seem to suggest so. Whatever you have seen in the trailers and promos are all created footage; there is no real footage in the film. We did a lot of research and spoke to a lot of people and police officers involved in the attacks. Everything was created in such a way that it would look real to the spectators. Did your visit to the Taj along with Vilasrao (late) and Riteish Deshmukh then help in getting a better idea for the filming of The Attacks of 26/11? (pauses) I have answered this particular question a thousand times. I went to the Taj three days after the attacks happened and only when the operation was over. Let me categorically tell you that this film has nothing to do with what happened after the attacks. It only concerns the night of the attacks i.e. from 9 pm to 1 am that night. Are there any imaginary scenes in the film? No, there is no imagination involved. My research was on all the people wherever the incident happened. Is Nana Patekar’s role based on any real life character? Yes, his role is based on Mr Rakesh Maria who was the Joint Commissioner of Police when the incident happened. Do you see any kind of controversy erupting after the film’s release? (hardens) Let it be clear that my film is a non-controversial film because nobody has a dispute on what happened. Moreover, there is nothing like that there is an ongoing trial in the matter or any investigation taking place on the issue. There is no ambiguity about who was behind the attacks as well; everyone in the world knows what happened. Why did you choose the character of Rakesh Maria to tell the story? I have done so because Rakesh Maria happened to be the head of police at the time of the incident, so he automatically becomes the face of the police in the said context. Besides, playing through the emotion of a person is different rather than playing the character. Nana (Patekar) represents the spirit of the police force and hence I chose to tell the story through him. Moreover, he has a good baritone as well. Why did you launch the music of your film at the Leopold Café of all places? We all know what happened there. It was a tragic and one of the most momentous events that happened in the post-independent India. One of the main reasons of me making this film was that I was moved with the talk I had with Farzad Jehani, the owner of the shop. Everyone pretty much knows what happened that night, but to see it from the perspective of a particular person is different. The event would be perceived by different people with different ideas. The point is no matter how much somebody tries to intimidate or terrorize you, there is a need to come back to your normal self soon. To that extent I thought of doing the first look at Leopold where the terror actually started from. I organized the music launch there not just to remember the memory of pain, but also to show a certain symbol of spirit. With this, I would like to thank Farzad who closed his outlet for three days for me to recreate the event that happened here. These days a lot of people are making films on real life subjects. Comment. (pauses) Film is the medium for any person who wishes to communicate something imaginary or real at the end of the day. I think different people have different motives behind making movies. See, the film industry consists of lot of people. I can’t speak on behalf of all of them; can speak about myself only.