Despite receiving death threats on social media, actor Vikrant Massey says he is unconcerned since his next movie ‘The Sabarmati Report’, which is set in the aftermath of the 2002 Godhra train burning incident, is ‘purely based on facts’.
As a vernacular journalist, Massey will be featured in the upcoming thriller film, which the producers say is “inspired by true events.” Dheeraj Sarna is the director and Ektaa R Kapoor is the producer. Raashii Khanna and Ridhi Dogra also feature in the movie.
During a conversation with reporters at the trailer launch of the film, Vikrant shared, “I have been receiving threats. Without drawing attention to it, it is something which I am dealing with and we, as a team, collectively are dealing with.”
When quizzed about the Gujarat riots that followed the incident, the actor stated, “But we are artists and we tell stories. This film is purely based on facts. Unfortunately, you have not seen the film so you should not make a preconceived notion that it is talking about only one facet.”
Given the complexity of the plot, Massey was asked why he chose to see the film. Ektaa responded that she would respond on his behalf. “This is not just the one facet, but the first facet. So, we are telling the genesis of this first facet without undermining the other facets. Unfortunately, this facet, how it all started, has not been reported enough,” she stated, adding that sharing one story does not imply that the others are being undermined.
When asked if the movie could cause animosity in the community, Kapoor referred to it as a “social commentary.” Despite being a Hindu, she claimed that being “Hindu means you are secular.” She shared, “I will never make a comment about any religion because I’m a Hindu. And I want to tell you this, that I love all religions. You need to see the film. But at the same time, I will name the perpetrators, too, without naming or harming any religion. That’s the beauty of a storyteller.”
Additionally, Ektaa disputed that politics had any influence on the film’s depiction of the Sabarmati Express’s S-6 coach burning near the Godhra train station, which claimed the lives of 59 people. In Gujarat, the incident led to sectarian rioting that killed over 1,000 people, the majority of whom were Muslims. “I have not spoken to any politician or taken support of anyone. I am not with any wing that has shown a true wing and it is flying on that wing only,” she said.
After ‘12th Fail’ became a huge hit, Vikrant said that Ektaa offered him his first movie break with ‘Lootera’ in 2013, and the two have subsequently collaborated on a number of projects. “This is our eighth project together and this time it is all the more special… I resonate with everything we have said in ‘The Sabarmati Report’. That is the reason I am part of this film. I am extremely proud to be part of this film. We read the newspaper and move on and this has become a norm. But this was our 9/11 which changed our socio-political fabric overnight,” the actor said, comparing the Godhra tragedy to the New York 9/11 attacks on September 11, 2001.
Also produced by Shobha Kapoor, Amul V Mohan and Anshul Mohan, the film is scheduled to hit the big screens on November 15.
