With the state of the world, we need this sense of hope we can do better
THE TERRORIST OCCUPATION OF THE TAJ MAHAL HOTEL INSPIRED NEW THRILLER HOTEL MUMBAI. STARS JASON ISAACS AND NAZANIN BONIADI TELL ABOUT THE MESSAGE OF THE FILM, AND THEIR CHALLENGING ROLES
NO ONE can deny that Hotel Mumbai is a brutal watch. A Sky Cinema original film, it vividly portrays a true story; the 2008 siege of one of India’s most famed hotels. But while it’s a terror-attack thriller containing extreme violence, there’s an inspiring message within it, which was the appeal for two of its stars, Jason Isaacs and Nazanin Boniadi.
“With the current state of the world, where world leaders are driving wedges between us and capitalising on our differences, we need this sense of hope that we can do and be better, and I think that’s what the film does,” suggests Iranian-British actress Nazanin, 39.
“It gives us a lie to this nonsense that there’s so much that divides us and we’re so separate from each other, because all the divisions evaporated the second the bullets started flying, and people’s best natures came out, not their worst natures,” elaborates 56-year-old Jason, who was born in Liverpool, and is known for roles such as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series.
“And we need reminding of that when we’re told the opposite.”
The gripping drama recalls how, between November 26th and 29th, a squad of young jihadists reigned terror upon Mumbai, with a coordinated series of shooting and bombing attacks (by the time the carnage across the city had ended, more than 170 people from over a dozen countries had been killed).
During the three-day stand-off, chaos unfolded at the legendary Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which a group of gunmen seized with more than 500 people trapped inside.
Jason and Nazanin play guests at the hotel, who are composite characters. The former is a steely Russian millionaire whose main interest seems to be protecting himself, while the latter portrays one half of a desperate couple (Armie Hammer takes on the role of her husband) who have to make unthinkable sacrifices to defend their newborn child.
Knowing they were playing amalgamations of fictional and real people didn’t influence the way either actor approached the role.
“The things you’re seeing on screen actually happened, so you still treat it with respect and authenticity, and you try to be as true and as honest in the moment that you can,” suggests Nazanin – best known for Homeland and How I Met Your Mother.
“The man I’m playing is a composite of actually three people,” notes Jason, who’s also starred in TV shows such as The OA and Case Histories.
“But I know who they are, and I know what happened to them.”
He adds openly: “We just tried to get our own egos – acting egos – out of the way and let the story tell itself, because it’s more dramatic than you could ever make up.”
One challenging aspect of a film like this could be its portrayal of religion, given its depiction of terrorists.
“When you’re dealing with a real-life situation, you have to not try to whitewash the situation,” Nazanin comments emphatically. “It is what it is – this is what happened.”
She explains how she plays a “British-Iranian woman; a Muslim”.
“There’s one scene which is very powerful... I don’t want to give too much away, but I call it the yin and yang of faith.
“It’s up to us, as individuals, how we use faith. We can use it on one hand – which will become clear to audiences when they see the scene – to instil fear and propagate hate, and on the other hand you can use it to bring about hope and resolve and courage.
“And I think that was a powerful message for me and the arc of my character in the film.”
Perhaps what’s particularly fascinating about the movie is how it follows ordinary people from all walks of life.
For example, there are the remarkable members of hotel staff, such as renowned chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher) and gentle Sikh waiter (Dev Patel), who risk everything to protect their guests.
Knowing that people really went through such unimaginable horror, it was understandably an intense time on set for the cast.
“You know, acting is just pretend but you pretend as best you can, and we were imagining ourselves in flight or fight mode all day, keeping ourselves tense and anxious,” recalls Jason. “In fact, it’s the only film I’ve done in 30-something years where we all went out together every single night; we needed to connect at night-time because during the day we were as close to really terrified as we could possibly be.”
It was previously reported in the media that the father-oftwo – who is married to documentary filmmaker Emma Hewitt – wasn’t looking to work when he was offered the part in
Hotel Mumbai.
In fact, he had plans for a big family holiday. But, once he read the script, he knew he couldn’t turn it down.
Jason is, however, slightly wary to describe the project as something it was important to make.
“Is it an ‘important’ film? You make an important film, and that feels like a worthy film,” he muses.
“It’s a huge cinematic experience when you see it; it’s intense, you feel drained by the end of it, and hopefully, on some subliminal level, you also maybe, bypassing of intellect, have a bud of hope that human beings are really capable of greatness. Quiet greatness – not grabbing a machine gun, Die Hard greatness.”
He continues passionately: “We’re essentially generous and we’re essentially capable of selflessness. We’re told the opposite from all corners and ‘there’s rising tides of nationalism and populism, tribalism, people pulling the drawbridges up around their particular clan’, and actually, that’s not what we’re like when our backs are against the wall.
“So, you know, an ‘important’ film sounds like a film you don’t want to see. People should see it because it’s what storytelling is about.”