A brand new movie on the 26/11 Mumbai terror assaults – Prahaar – is ready to launch on October 16. The Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi starrer relies on the lifetime of veteran public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who can also be a Rajya Sabha member of Parliament, and the court docket proceedings of the trial which finally led to the hanging of the lone captured terrorist, Ajmal Kasab.
In an interview with HT, Nikam revisited the landmark case and mentioned that the trial towards Ajmal Kasab was not towards one terrorist, however a authorized battle towards Pakistan. Excerpts from the interview:
Q: We’ve got seen a number of motion pictures being made on 26/11 terror assaults. How is Prahaar completely different?
Nikam: It’s basically a movie in regards to the court docket proceedings. You gained’t see any sensationalisation of a personality. Two and a half years of analysis went into the movie together with the story and what was mentioned throughout the court docket proceedings. It would present what really occurred within the courtroom and the way we handled the challenges throughout the trial. The director, Avinash Arun, additionally heard the arguments in court docket and later mentioned the fabric with actor Rajkummar Rao (who’s taking part in Nikam’s character). To make sure authenticity, actual names have been used together with that of the decide. I consider that this film can ship a message that we should always not give a communal angle to such terror assaults.
Q: How carefully does Prahaar replicate your expertise of the 26/11 trial?
Nikam: It’s solely based mostly on the court docket proceedings and arguments from each side throughout the trial. There isn’t any dramatisation. The makers even researched how I stroll and discuss.
Q: Ajmal Kasab’s trial might be one of the necessary terrorism trials in India. Why did it take a very long time? You additionally talked about challenges throughout the trial. What have been these?
Nikam: I’m requested this query usually. We’ve got to know that this was not a trial towards Kasab alone. A complete of 10 terrorists have been despatched from throughout the border to focus on Mumbai and its harmless residents. They have been all one group and it was a trial towards all of them. In a method, it was a authorized battle towards Pakistan as a result of via proof, we established a state-backed bigger conspiracy. The challenges confronted have been Kasab’s repeated lies. He would declare that he was a minor or that he was given poison. He additionally tried to disassociate himself from the group of 10 terrorists, saying Abu Ismail had executed the whole lot. Our job was to primarily discredit all his falsehoods and set up the reality. Information was retrieved with the assistance of an FBI laboratory. The police labored round the clock to carry proof towards Kasab and Pakistan.
The trial within the 26/11 assaults began on Could 6, 2009 and precisely a yr later – on Could 6, 2010—the periods court docket awarded the loss of life penalty to Kasab. Our constitutional processes permit an accused to enchantment in increased courts. He first appealed to the Bombay excessive court docket, which selected the enchantment in Could 2011 after which the Supreme Court docket additionally upheld the court docket’s determination in September 2012. So, once we say that the trial took time, we should always perceive the complexity of the case as each piece of proof needed to stand up to scrutiny at completely different levels.
Q: Your ‘biryani’ remark throughout the trial was extensively mentioned. What recollection do you will have of it?
Nikam: Kasab by no means demanded biryani, nor was it served. The bigger downside was that the main focus had shifted to Kasab as an alternative of the victims so we needed to change that environment. Our goal was that individuals discuss in regards to the victims, who misplaced their lives.
Q: Did the Kasab trial have a political bearing in your nomination to the Rajya Sabha? How do you see that?
Nikam: In no way. I’ve beforehand dealt with the trial for the 1993 Mumbai blasts, the homicide of Gulshan Kumar and others. Kasab’s trial has nothing to do with me coming into politics. I used to be requested to enter the Rajya Sabha and was then nominated by the President. The 2 issues usually are not linked. The 2 issues usually are not linked.
Q: What do you suppose audiences will take away from Prahaar?
Nikam: It would make folks perceive the authorized battle and what went into establishing that on 26/11, India was attacked as a part of a conspiracy. The main target needs to be on terrorism, proof and most significantly, the victims.
Prahaar, directed by Avinash Arun, and starring Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sikandar Kher, Ashish Vidyarthi, Lalit Prabhakar, and Ritvik Sahore, will launch in theatres on October 16.