Hollywood’s 26/11 Film Gets Stiff Competition From Commando 3

Terror and  terrorism  are  the crux of the evil in the two releases   coming Friday. The verdict  on  debutant director Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai, which attempts to recreate the  events  during the horrific terror  attack on the Taj hotel in Mumbai in 2008, is  already out.

 The  film was released at the Toronto Film Festival in September  2018 and has since then been  released in Australia, the US and other parts  to lukewarm  critical and audience  response.

 In India there have been several films on  the subject  including  Ram Gopal Varma’s  The  Attack of  26/11. So there is really no novelty  in  Hotel Mumbai.

And yet the  film’s Indian distributors Zee Telefilms are going all-out, releasing this  outdated  thriller  in  four languages  in India  including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

It’s doubtful that Dev Patel(of Slumdog Millionaire ) and Anupam Kher  can  together entice  viewers into  theatres  to see a film  recreates an 11-year old  tragedy, and which   takes wild  liberties with the  truth to recreate  the horrific attack  on Mumbai on  26 November  2008.

The  other  anti-terror film  Commando 3 releasing this week is a successful Vipul Shah-Reliance  franchise. Made at a tight  budget  the principal lead Vidyut Jamwal’s  heartstopping stunts  are  the mainstay  of  the  project.Trade analysts expect   Commando 3    to do  far better than Hotel  Mumbai.

“26/11 has been done too many times. A fictional treatment  of  the anti-terrorism theme in Commando 3 is of more interest  to  Indian  viewers,”comments  a well-placed source  from a leading multiplex chain who  wishes  to  remain unnamed.