Ram
Gopal
Varma
is
gearing
up
for
the
release
of
The
Attacks
of
26/11,
based
on
the
Mumbai
terror
attacks.
However,
the
filmmaker
doesn't
fear
any
backlash.
"I
don't
think
so
(there
will
be
a
backlash),
simply
because
there
cannot
be
a
dispute
in
one's
view
of
that
barbaric
act
committed
in
killing
so
many
innocent
men,
women
and
children,
be
it
the
so-called
moral
police
or
publicity-hungry
trouble-mongers," Varma
said.
Excerpts
from
the
interview:
For
the
first
time
in
your
career,
you
were
preparing
a
film
for
the
film
festivals
and
the
popular
awards.
Yes,
I
was
preparing
26/11
film
for
the
festivals.
We
were
going
to
take
it
to
Berlin
in
February
but
then
the
film
wasn't
ready.
Now
there's
the
Cannes
film
festival
in
May,
and
then
various
other
festivals
across
the
world...
I
think
I
only
attended
one
awards
function
in
my
entire
career.
And
that
was
Filmfare
during
Satya.
But
now
I
feel
the
need
to
take
The
Attacks
Of
26/11
where
it
will
be
noticed,
heard,
seen
and
appreciated.
In
the
film,
you've
used
a
lot
of
inter-cutting
sequences
to
create
a
sense
of
immediacy.
That's
why
I
released
the
first
seven
minutes
of
the
film
for
public
viewing
rather
than
the
standard
trailer.
More
than
just
a
montage
of
visuals,
which
tell
you
what
the
movie
is
about
in
the
usual
way
and
especially
because
the
story
of
26/11
is
anyway
known
to
everyone,
we
thought
it
was
better
to
show
the
public
how
and
why
it
has
been
made.
In
The
Attack
Of
26/11,
you
have
abandoned
rogue
technique
that
you
had
adapted
in
your
last
few
films.
I
feel
no
amount
of
camera
jugglery
or
technique
can
compensate
for
content.
It
is
only
when
the
content
doesn't
work
that
technique
stands
out
both
in
a
good
and
a
bad
way.
(The
film)
26/11
still
has
my
usual
camera
work
but
the
seriousness
of
the
subject
matter
does
not
make
it
apparent.
The
rest
of
the
film
will
be
in
the
same
tone
as
the
first
seven
minutes
because
the
events
of
26/11
were
happening
with
a
sense
of
urgency
for
all
concerned,
whether
it
was
the
terrorists
or
the
victims
or
the
cops.
Even
the
background
score
here
is
in
my
usual
style.
But,
like
I
said,
since
it
is
synchronised
with
the
content
it
doesn't
jar.
And
I
haven't
used
the
rogue
method.
You
end
with
the
hanging
of
Ajmal
Kasab.
It
gives
the
film's
narrative
a
nice
sense
of
closure.
But
there
is
no
closure
to
the
actual
happenings.
Kasab
was
only
a
pawn.
Who
were
the
people
behind
him?
Who
really
held
Mumbai
city
to
ransom
on
26/11?
Now
that
"26/11
is
ready
and
cleared
by
the
censor
board,
do
you
apprehend
a
backlash
from
the
moral
police?
I
don't
think
so,
simply
because
there
cannot
be
a
dispute
in
one's
view
of
that
barbaric
act
committed
in
killing
so
many
innocent
men,
women
and
children,
be
it
the
so-called
moral
police
or
publicity-hungry
trouble-mongers.
Recently,
Kamal
Haasan's
Vishwaroopam
was
targeted
by
radical
groups.
Do
you
think
films
on
terrorism
are
susceptible
to
a
terror
attack
by
political
and
moral
groups?
I
don't
think
they
target
terrorism
related
films
in
particular,
but
it
is
a
general
intolerance...
the
irony
of
a
free
society
is
that
on
one
hand
one
has
a
freedom
to
do
what
one
wants
to
do,
on
the
other
there
is
the
freedom
to
object
to
someone
else's
freedom.
Those
who
have
seen
the
film
say
it
is
a
very
humane
and
emotional
take
on
the
26/11
attacks.
As
you
grow
older,
do
you
find
the
human
aspect
of
a
story
more
interesting
than
the
technical
and/or
political
angle?
I
don't
think
it's
anything
to
do
with
age,
but
it
is
to
do
with
which
particular
aspect
of
those
attacks
struck
me.
Everyone
pretty
much
knows
what
happened
but
very
few
know
how
it
happened.
It
is
one
thing
to
hear
or
read
about
it
but
it
is
another
thing
to
actually
see
it.
My
film
primarily
concentrates
on
the
events
on
the
night
of
26/11.
IANS