TORONTO: “Hotel Mumbai,” about the 2008 attack on a hotel in the Indian city, received a standing ovation at its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and the cast and filmmakers said they believe that’s because of the human portrayal not only of the victims but also the perpetrators.`
The film, starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs, recounts the attack on Mumbai’s luxury Taj Mahal hotel, where dozens of guests and hotel workers were killed during a three-day siege carried out by Pakistan-based Islamist militants.
Most of the film is told from the point of view of those trapped in the hotel, and also from that of the gunmen.
“You had a whole lot of people from different backgrounds, racial, ethnic, from different socioeconomic groups who came together in the face of real adversity to survive,” Australian director Anthony Maras told a news conference on Saturday.
“As Dev (Patel) said yesterday, ‘it’s an anthem of resistance.’“
The cast said the film, which also uses television footage of the siege, brought some of them to tears when they watched the finished version for the first time. Hammer, who plays American hotel guest David, said that the script was “dripping in humanity.”
“You see the toll the attack has on the guests and the staff of the hotel, but you also see it, really for the first time that I can think of, on the actual perpetrators,” Hammer said.
The Hollywood Reporter praised the film’s “nail-biting detail and ... an impressive you-are-there quality,” while The Wrap said it “delivers a show-stopping account.”
The siege at the Taj Mahal Hotel was one of a coordinated series of attacks across Mumbai in which more than 160 people were killed and hundreds wounded.
“Hotel Mumbai” follows a 2013 Bollywood film, “The Attacks of 26/11,” that was told from the point of view of the Mumbai police.
‘Hotel Mumbai’ dubbed an ‘anthem of resistance’
‘Hotel Mumbai’ dubbed an ‘anthem of resistance’
- The film, which also uses television footage of the siege, brought some of them to tears when they watched the finished version for the first time
- The siege at the Taj Mahal Hotel was one of a coordinated series of attacks across Mumbai in which more than 160 people were killed
Lebanese woman fired from work after replying to post by Israeli military’s spokesman
- Sarah Shayah replied to IDF’s spokesman Avichay Adraee, saying, ‘Baalbek when?’
- Lawyer tells Arab News that interacting via social media with any Israeli is ‘against the Lebanese penal code’
BEIRUT: A Lebanese employee was fired from her job with immediate effect after her reply to a post by the Israeli military’s spokesman on X triggered a social media uproar.
Shortly after the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X evacuation orders for residents of southern villages on Thursday, Lebanese citizen Sarah Shayah replied, saying: “Baalbek when?”
Without any clear indication as to what she meant by her reply, many social media users lashed out at Shayah, accusing her of communicating with Israelis and calling for her prosecution.
Others saw her reply as a joke or a simple error that should not have been taken so seriously.
According to Lebanese media, Shayah was an employee at the non-profit Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training.
LOST’s President Dr. Rami Al-Lakkis was quoted as telling Annahar newspaper that Shayah was immediately dismissed from her job. Citing a breach of the organization’s established procedures and regulations, Al-Lakkis emphasized that her actions constituted a violation of Lebanese laws, as they are considered communication with the enemy.
A lawyer specialized in criminal law told Arab News on Friday that interacting via social media with any Israeli is “against the Lebanese penal code.”
The lawyer, who requested anonymity, said: “A person who replies, retweets, or interacts with any social media account of any Israeli national is considered a form of communication with the enemy. If found guilty, a suspect could face no less than one year in jail.”
No confirmation could be obtained as to whether any legal action had been initiated against Shayah by the time this article was published.
