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Hollywood Film Review
Johnson Thomas
A searing, quasi-fictional, testament of triumph over catastrophe
Film: Hotel Mumbai
Cast: Dev Patel, Nazanin Boniadi, Armie Hammer, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Anupam Kher, Amandeep Singh, Jason Isaacs, Suhail Nayyar, Vipin Sharma, Alex Pinder, Natasha Bordizzo, Yash Trivedi Director: Anthony Maras
Writer: John Collee, Anthony Maras
Rating: * * * ½
Runtime: 125 min.
A searing, quasi-fictional, testament of triumph over catastrophe





This film is a dramatic recreation of the act of real-life terrorism that struck Mumbai on 26/11, 2008 in the series of pre-planned, co-ordinated attacks in several locations in and around the Indian Financial capital, Mumbai. Director Anthony Maras and co-scriptwriter John Collee locates the major portion of the story in and around the Taj Mahal Palace fictionalising the account of personal tragedies replete with disaster-action movie treatment, in order to provide the bulwark for their gritty and wonderfully shot production. Reportedly, Maras and co-writer John Collee, interviewed survivors and witnesses of the three-day ordeal before sitting down to fashion this fairly reliable and relatable account. It’s one of the most horrifying events of the 21st century, yet, and the ethics and timing behind such a representation may be debatable but there’s no denying the strong resonance this film will have in the subcontinent. The way Maras plays it, the film is bound to bring back traumatic memories of a collective nightmare best forgotten (for the victims).

While Maras’ narrative touches briefly on the Pakistan protected terrorists’ (belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba jihadi group) arrival by boat and subsequent spreading out to different locations in South Mumbai, mercilessly wreaking havoc and carnage in their wake, the intimate rendering of those disturbing events are mostly relegated to the Taj as the camera follows about a dozen characters from different backgrounds who find themselves trapped in various parts of the immense building when the shootings begin. As the militants (Amandeep Singh, Suhail Nayyar, Yash Trivedi, Gaurav Paswala), armed and remorseless, continue their deadly assault on the hotel, a brave chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher) and a lowly steward Arjun (Dev Patel) decide to risk their own lives to try and protect the frightened guests - an assortment of nationalities including a debauched former Russian Military man Vasili ( Jason Isaacs ) and an inter-racial couple, American Architect David(Armie Hammer) and Middle-eastern Heiress Zahra ( Nazanin Boniadi) with a baby and Nanny, Sally (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) in tow.

Maras’ film plays true regarding the inadequacies of the security forces and the administration who found themselves at a loss when faced with the sheer audacity and scale of the bloody and blistering assault. Maras steers clear of any overt political or social commentary. To score well on his ‘triumph over adversity construct’, he deftly builds up the tempo and tension as the assault culminates in bloody bodies and ruthless, callous destruction (in the totally misguided name of religion). The violence is cold-blooded but Maras cuts away to help make the visuals less gruesome. Even so, it’s a tough watch. The film, inspired by a documentary, “Surviving Mumbai,” relays those terrifying moments from the vantage points of largely composite characters, guests and staff members of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of two luxury hotels the terrorists targeted, and where more than 30 died during the siege. Even though the individual stories are largely fictional we get to feel the pain of those terrifying moments that eventually left an entire city feeling violated and traumatised. Production Design is on the mark. The exteriors of the Taj are the real deal but even the interiors ( Studio set & Digitised) look and feel acutely real. Maras’ uniquely calibrated skillset (he even throws in some absurdist humour on the part of terrorists), Nick Remy’s deft, realistic, all-encompassing, desaturated camerawork, smart editing with Peter McNulty’s help and an effectively modulated background score generate an agonising, shocking and ravaging experience. Despite its generic elements, “Hotel Mumbai” makes for a troubling assignation – just as it should!
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