Almost 18 years since the attacks of 26/11 — a series of coordinated attacks that shook the nation and changed the history of Mumbai for years to come. The impact was felt everywhere, but especially in the brutal siege of one of the country's most iconic cities. 60 hours of uncertainty kept the whole nation on edge.
A very close, visceral look at those attacks came with The Attacks of 26/11 by Ram Gopal Varma — a stark, blow-by-blow recreation of that night that doesn't look away from the chaos of it. Since then we've had other films circling the same ground too, like Hotel Mumbai and Major, each picking a different thread of the story to pull on.
Prahaar is one of the same — this time following the lawyer who prosecuted the captured terrorist, Ajmal Kasab. A banger of a trailer already has you fired up, stirring up the anger you still carry toward Kasab, toward terrorism, toward everything that happened that night, even all these years later. From the first teaser, we were already looking forward to this one — especially Rajkummar Rao nailing Ujjwal Nikam and Lalit Prabhakar as Kasab. It leaves you genuinely curious about the delays in the case, and what it actually took for our justice system to bring a known terrorist to account.
We grabbed an early seat the day it released and walked out with mixed feelings. The film does a great job telling the lawyer's story — the struggles with the case itself, the toll on his personal life, and his earlier role in the 1993 bomb blasts case. It lays out his philosophy on a fair trial clearly: that every angle deserves to be examined rather than reaching for the quickest route to a hanging. His insistence on a deeper investigation, rather than rushing the trial toward a convenient verdict, comes through well.
That said, the trailer sets you up to expect more — more of the actual investigation, more courtroom drama, maybe details that never made it to the public. What you get instead is closer to a documentary of Ujjwal Nikam's point of view on the case, rather than a film about the attacks themselves. Which, fair enough, given the title and what it's clearly built to be — we just found ourselves wanting a bit more of the attacks and a bit less of the man around them.
All in all, it's a good watch. Ujjwal Nikam's contributions to this country have been genuinely commendable, and we're glad to see filmmakers willing to bring stories like his to the screen. These are stories that deserve to be told, and this film tells it well.
If you're looking for a solid watch this weekend, we'd recommend it. And we remember everyone we lost that night — the officials who gave their lives, and everyone who helped carry the city through it.
That's all for this one, signing off. See you at the movies!