No stranger to controversy, director Ram Gopal Varma has been in the news for all the wrong reasons because of his film, The Attacks of 26/11. However, none of that has stopped him from going full steam ahead with the promotions and just a few days ago, he introduced to the media, actor Sanjeev Jaiswal, a young twenty-four years old actor from Mumbai, who plays the epochal and much-hated character of Ajmal Kasab, in the film.
Varma seems to have scored a coup in casting Sanjeev, who looks quite similar to Kasab. The young actor was the seventh among the lot of forty people who auditioned for the role and was selected by Varma instantly. “Once I saw him, I didn’t want to meet anyone else,” said Varma.
And what was it like shooting for this film? “I was switching on and off when I played Kasab. I hate him as much as anyone else in India does,” says Jaiswal.
In case you missed it, read Nana Patekar’s interview on his role in The Attacks of 26/11 here, Ram Gopal Varma’s interview on the making of the film and an interview with Rommel Rodrigues – writer of the book Kasab, Face Of 26 / 11.
Pix: Yogen Shah for MissMalini