7 films that showcase India and terrorism

In Baby, Akshay Kumar swaps his frequently comic appearances for the role of an officer in a counter-intelligence unit set up to tackle terrorism. It is a theme that Bollywood has often turned to in recent years, reflecting the reality that India faces. Here’s a look at the more recent films on the threats that India faces.

Black Friday

The title refers to 12th March 1993, when Mumbai was ripped apart by a series of bomb blasts. The 2005 film by Anurag Kashyap – some consider this his best work ever – is a gritty look at the events that led up to the terror attack on the city and the role of Tiger Memon in orchestrating it. Starring Kay Kay Menon and Pavan Malhotra, the film also focuses on how those who carry out these missions are also left to fend for themselves by their terrorist overlords once they’ve done their job.

Fanaa

Aamir Khan was cast in the role of anti-hero in the 2006 film by Kunal Kohli. Rehan (Aamir Khan) meets a blind girl, Zooni (Kajol), while he is a tour guide in Delhi. They fall in love and later Rehan is presumed dead in a bomb blast. Seven years later, he turns up in Kashmir where Zooni lives with her son from Rehan. What happens when she learns he is a Kashmiri terrorist forms the action-packed climax of the film.

Dhokha

The movie by Pooja Bhatt explored the injustices that lead innocent people to become terrorists. Muzammil Ibrahim played an inspector whose wife, Sarah, played by Tulip Joshi, dies in a bomb blast. She is accused of having been a suicide bomber. When the inspector begins to probe he finds Sarah’s brother is also planning to pull off a suicide bombing.

A Wednesday!

The film by Neeraj Pandey was described by critics as ‘brilliant,’ ‘remarkable’ and ‘relevant’. It narrates the happenings on a particular Wednesday when an ordinary man, played by Naseeruddin Shah, calls up the police and says he has placed in bombs in various places in Mumbai. He will set them off if four terrorists in custody are not handed over to him. A cat-and-mouse game begins between the man and Mumbai Police Commissioner Prakash Rathod, played by Anupam Kher, leading to an unexpected conclusion. The movie was remade in Tamil as Unnaipol Oruvan and featured Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal.

Sikandar

Set against the militancy in Kashmir, this movie by Piyush Jha traced the changes in the life of the 14-year-old Sikandar Razdan, played by Parzan Dastur, when he encounters terrorism. He is just another school boy crazy about football until he first lays hands on a gun. He then becomes entangled in a web spun by the militants, the army and self-serving politicians. It also threw light on how young minds are moulded to take to terror.

Holiday

The Hindi remake of the Vijay-starrer, Thuppakki, Holiday had the tagline ‘A soldier is never off duty’. Captain Virat Bakshi, played by Akshay Kumar, is on leave in Mumbai. A bomb explosion sees him swing into action and he uncovers a string of sleeper terrorist cells. He sets out to destroy them and eventually confronts the dreaded mastermind behind these cells.

The Attacks of 26/11

This docudrama by Ram Gopal Varma is a close-to-reality narration of the events that shattered Mumbai on that fateful day. The first half of the film captures the terrorists creeping up on Mumbai and the destruction they unleashed, until the capture of Ajmal Kasab. The second half focused on the impact of Kasab’s arrest, leading up to his execution. RGV also intended this effort to be a tribute to the martyrs of this harrowing episode in Mumbai’s history.