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‘The Attacks of 26/11’: Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, the movie despite its very positive reception by audiences and critics alike is also notorious for going into meticulous bloody details about the carnage that unfolded…reports Asian Lite News

The horrifying incident of the 2008 Mumbai attacks which is well known as 26/11 was a tragic incident which has gone down in history as one of the worst and biggest terrorist attacks to ever take place.It has been 15 years now, and while India is moving on from that nightmare it has left scars that have never fully healed. Carried out by 10 Pakistani terrorists, the attacks went on for three days with the Taj Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus being the biggest targets.Over 175 people were killed in this attack and over 300 injured.

Over the years many storytellers have presented the story of these attacks from different aspects. Some have presented the story from the victims’ point of view, some from the medical fraternity, the NSG commandos to the planning of the attacks.

1. ‘Major’: Directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka and written by its lead actor Adivi Shesh, this tri-lingual film from 2022 is a must watch. Telling the story of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a soldier in the Indian Army and later the team commander of the NSG (National Security Guard) commandos who participated in taking down the terrorists, the movie tells the gut-wrenching story of how the great soldier laid down his life fighting the terrorists.The film apart from Adivi Sesh stars Prakash Raj, Sobhita Dhulipala, Murali Sharma, Saiee Manjrekar, and Revathi among others.

2. ‘The Attacks of 26/11’: Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, the movie despite its very positive reception by audiences and critics alike is also notorious for going into meticulous bloody details about the carnage that unfolded. Playing partially like a documentary, the movie did not have any filmy appeal as such but told the story very accurately to the point that it almost scratched the old wounds. Starring Nana Patekar, Sanjeev Jaiswal, Atul Kulkarni, and Jitendra Joshi, among others, the 2013 film is a very dark and realistically grisly watch, but one worth watching.

3. ‘Hotel Mumbai’: The Hollywood film directed by Anthony Maras tells the story of the Taj hotel staff and how they risked their lives selflessly to ensure the survivors of the guests. Though it does take some liberties with the details, the film is largely on-point and strikes at the heartstrings. One of the biggest heroes of this whole tragedy is General Manager Karambir Kang who lost his family, but continued with his duties. The 2018 film stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Anupam Kher, Nazanin Boniadi, Tilda Cobham Hervey, Jason Isaacs, Suhail Nayyar, and Vipoin Sharma in the lead roles.

4. ‘Mumbai Diaries’: This engaging thriller series created and co-directed by Nikkhil Advani alongside Nikhil Gonsalves, tells the story of the attacks from a different angle in its first season.A medical-thriller-drama so to speak, the first season narrates the story of the medical staff of Mumbai General Hospital, as well as the journalists who reported these events.The series stars Mohit Raina, Konkona Sen Sharma, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Satyajeey Dubey, Shreya Dhnwanthary, Natasha Bharadwaj, and Tine Desai in pivotal roles.

5. ‘Taj Mahal’: This 2015 French-Belgian thriller film may perhaps be the most unknown film to be based on the attacks. Narrating a more fictionalised, but nonetheless realistic tale, the story follows a French teenage girl staying at the hotel when the attacks happened. A story of survival against horrifically unfavourable odds, this finds its protagonist Stacy trying to stay alive until the NSG squad and the Mumbai police are able to handle the situation.While the movie was critiqued for its neo-realistic and non-serious tone, the claustrophobic environment of the production, as well as the acting received praise, leading to mixed reception.Directed, written by Nicolas Saada, the film stars Stacy Martin, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Gina McKee, Alba Rohrwacher, Fred Epaud, Praveena Vivekananthan in lead roles.

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#UniteAgainstTerrorism protest outside Pak mission in London on 26/11

The protest is being launched by numerous groups and concerned individuals under the hashtag #UniteAgainstTerrorism at Lowndes Square, London, at the Pakistani High Commission on the day of the anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, reports Rahul Kumar

The Indian diaspora is planning a major demonstration in front of the Pakistani High Commission in London to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The protest is also to highlight the scourge of State-sponsored terror that threatens the world.

The protest is being launched by numerous groups and concerned individuals under the hashtag #UniteAgainstTerrorism at Lowndes Square, London, at the Pakistani High Commission on the day of the anniversary of the attacks.

India Narrative reached out to some of the organisers of the protest.

Medical practitioner Dr Vivek Kaul said: “This protest is important as the world has to be constantly reminded about the dangers of State-sponsored jihadi ideology and the havoc it can play with peace-loving nations.”

The protest also seeks to highlight the fact that justice has not been delivered to the families of the people who have been killed and injured by Pakistan-trained terrorists.

On why the diaspora is holding the protest at the Pakistani High Commission, the Indic Society, an online group said: “Pakistan is the only country in this world that not only uses terrorism as a State policy and strategy to inflict pain on other sovereign nations but also people residing within their geographical boundaries.” The group highlights how Pakistani armed forces have been regularly unleashing armed terrorists to create havoc in India.

On November 26, 2008 ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) set sail for Mumbai from Karachi in Pakistan and attacked landmarks including the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji rail terminus, the Chabad House, Cama hospital, Leopold Cafe and Nariman House business.

The attacks were carried out by automatic weapons and grenades. Lasting four days, the LeT terrorists killed 166 people and injured 300 including foreign tourists. Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab was captured alive and hanged after a lengthy trial.

Pakistan has been sheltering LeT chief Hafiz Saeed despite being placed under the Grey List by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). A special anti-terror court in Pakistan jailed Saeed for 31 years for raising terror funds. China too has supported Pakistan by blocking India and the US to designate Saeed’s son Hafiz Talah Saeed as a global terrorist.

Moshe Holtzberg, the two-year-old son of a Jewish rabbi escaped the attack even as the attackers killed his parents. Earlier this week, he read prayers in the Israeli Knesset commemorating the Mumbai terror attack.

With terrorists and terror organisations wreaking havoc in India with support from Pakistan and China, India is upping the ante on State-sponsored terror. At the ‘No Money for Terror’ conference in Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Certain countries support terrorism as part of their foreign policy. They offer political, ideological and financial support to them… There must be a cost imposed on such countries.”

Last month too India had organised a special meeting of the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) which adopted the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

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