Rensil
D'Silva's
much
anticipated
Kurbaan
is
based
on
the
London
subway
bombings
of
7
July
2005.
This
is
not
the
first
film
where
Om
plays
a
terrorist
mastermind
for
the
same
gruesome
terrorist
attack
in
London.
Says
Om,
"In
Jagmohan
Mundhra's
Shoot
On
Sight,
I
was
also
one
of
the
instigating
factors
in
the
bombings.
But
there
I
played
a
far
more
basic
character
perpetrating
hated.
In
Kurbaan,
I'm
a
suave
intellectual
with
a
mind
behind
my
religious
beliefs.
The
people
who
planned
26/11
or
7/7
had
very
precise
deep
and
scientific
minds.
They
weren't
the
rabid
illogical
kind
of
religious
fanatics
who
work
on
their
own
rationale.
And
that's
what
makes
my
character
in
Kurbaan
far
more
dangerous."
Om
suggested
the
character
wear
spectacles
to
look
normal.
"The
dangerous
thing
about
global
terrorism
is
that
people
with
terrorist
leanings
have
begun
to
emerge
from
educated
normal
rational
households.
That's
the
kind
of
mastermind
I
play
in
Kurbaan."
Om
Puri
had
absolutely
no
qualms
stepping
into
the
terrorist
mastermind's
role
in
Kurbaan,
a
role
that
Irrfan
Khan
said
no
to.
"I
don't
know
why
Irrfan
said
no.
To
me
every
character
is
equally
challenging
and
desirable.
I've
played
Raavan
in
Shyam
Benegal's
Discovery
Of
India.
And
I
still
remember
how
much
that
helped
me
to
grow
as
a
human
being
and
actor.
The
one
line
from
Raavan's
dialogues
that
I
remember
very
clearly
is,
'If
it's
something
worth
doing
then
do
it
right
away.
Don't
delay.
If
it's
something
not
worth
doing
then
think
about
it
again
and
again.
I've
followed
that
dictum
in
my
life."
And
the
one
lesson
that
Kurbaan
taught
Om?
"The
character
is
not
a
rabid
mullah
but
an
educated
thinking
individual.
This
is
what
America's
policy
of
arming
Islamic
countries
has
done.
It
has
given
birth
to
a
culture
of
hatred
and
violence
even
among
educated
people."