Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has responded after a Twitter user called him ‘a shameless person’ for making Faraaz. The upcoming film is based on the 2016 terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The movie is jointly produced by T-Series and Benaras Media works in association with Mahana Films. (Also Read | Faraaz trailer: Shashi Kapoor’s grandson Zahaan faces off against ‘Islam ke thekedaar’ in Hansal Mehta film. Watch)
Reacting to Hansal’s tweet unveiling the trailer, the person wrote on Saturday, “You should be ashamed of yourself. You are a shameless person. You are exploiting a horrifying tragedy for profit without asking the permission of victims family. Why don’t you make film about incidents from your own country?”
Sharing the link to an article, Hansal replied, “Hopefully this piece gives you the chance to take a more balanced perspective on the issue. Please read.” The mentioned article spoke about ‘artistic freedom’, ‘allowing grief to permeate into censorship’ and ‘cancel culture’. It also talked about how the attack was related to many ‘larger national and global trends’. The film is set to release in cinema halls on February 3.
As quoted by news agency PTI, Hansal had said, “Designed as a nail biting thriller that plays out over one tense night, my attempt with Faraaz has also been to shine a light on the immense courage and humanity that it takes to stand up against violence. Because standing up against bigotry and the carnage it triggers is the only way to defeat it.”
As per the report, Anubhav praised Hansal for doing justice to the story of the catastrophic event that shocked the world. “It is a story about a hero who made a brave choice and celebrates the spirit of a young boy who stood tall for his loved ones,” he added.
Faraaz marks the debut of Zahan Kapoor, the grandson of the late Shashi Kapoor. The film also features Aditya Rawal, the son of actors Paresh Rawal and Swaroop Rawal. The film had its world premiere at the 2022 edition of the BFI London Film Festival. Juhi Babbar, Aamir Ali, Sachin Lalwani, Palak Lalwani, and Reshham Sahaani also round out the cast of the film.
Earlier this week, hearing a plea by the family members of the victims of the terrorist attack against the release of the film, the Delhi High Court asked the parties to sit together to resolve their differences.
The mothers of two victims objected to the slated release of the film on the ground of invasion of privacy. Remarking that the filmmakers would not want the film to “remain in the can”, the court said showing it to the family may bring an end to their matter, as reported by PTI.
