Film documenting Mumbai terror attack premieres at TIFF
TORONTO: The film Hotel Mumbai, on the 2008 terror attacks on the megapolis, received a standing ovation as it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The loudest applause at Friday’s screening was reserved for a surprise guest: Hemant Oberoi, then a chef at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, who was among those who played a critical role in protecting precious lives. His is among the real life characters that appear prominently in the film, based partly on the 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai, which looked at the attack from the perspective of survivors, as does this fictional version.
The cast is led by British-indian actor Dev Patel, who plays Arjun, a waiter at the hotel, and like chef Oberoi, another character displaying heroism while literally under fire, after the Lashkar-e-taiba terrorists, directed over phone by their handlers in Pakistan, laid siege to the Mumbai landmark.
After the world premiere, Patel said the filming was “difficult” simply because of the emotions involved.
He also had a personal memory to recount. It was in September 2008 that the film that launched his career, Slumdog Millionaire, premiered at TIFF. After promoting the film elsewhere, he returned home to London to find his parents transfixed by the unfolding attack, tears streaming down their faces.
“To see that happen to this place that was bursting with life and people and children everywhere you look, it was very difficult,” he said. He pointed out that at the end of Slumdog Millionaire there is a dance scene shot at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, earlier Victoria Terminus in Mumbai, which “is a celebration of humanity and love” that he felt is encapsulated in Hotel Mumbai as well.
He described the film as an “anthem of resilience”. The film is directed by Australian Antony Maras in his feature directorial debut. Of the 166 casualties of the attack, more than 30 died within the luxurious premises of the Taj.