In the years following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, few performances stirred as much discomfort, anger, and debate as actor Sanjeev Jaiswal’s portrayal of Ajmal Amir Kasab in Ram Gopal Varma’s 2013 film The Attacks of 26/11. Looking back, Sanjeev Jaiswal’s reflections on inhabiting the mind of India’s most hated terrorist remain as unsettling as the role itself.
At a press conference held around the film’s release, Sanjeev Jaiswal spoke with raw honesty about the emotional toll of playing Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the November 26–29, 2008 attacks that killed 166 people across Mumbai. “I want to confess that I also hate Kasab as much as the whole of India. But for me, it was only like I have to just act,” he said, underlining the moral conflict that came with the role.
The actor admitted that the process of portraying Kasab forced him into a deeply uncomfortable space. “While portraying the character of Kasab, I hated myself,”
Jaiswal revealed. “I was thinking, ‘What is happening? And what the hell did this person do?’” For an actor, the challenge was not just technical, but psychological, stepping into the skin of a man responsible for one of the darkest chapters in India’s modern history.
Kasab was executed in November 2012 after being convicted for his role in the attacks, a fact that loomed heavily over the film and its performances.
Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, The Attacks of 26/11 aimed to reconstruct the events of those three harrowing days, with Nana Patekar portraying Mumbai Police Joint Commissioner Rakesh Maria. But it was Jaiswal’s casting as Kasab that drew the most visceral public reaction.
That reaction, Jaiswal recalled, was immediate and intense. “As a character, people are hating it but liking me as an actor. They are appreciating my work,” he said. “While watching the movie, they are abusing me, throwing chappals on the screen. So, as an actor that is a compliment for me.” The distinction audiences made between the man on screen and the actor behind the performance became a strange validation of his work.
Despite the hostility, Jaiswal insisted he was not entirely surprised. “I didn’t know that people are going to react this way. But I was prepared for it as the character is such,” he added. The anger, the abuse, even the slippers hurled at the screen were, in his eyes, proof that the portrayal had struck a nerve.
As a throwback, Jaiswal’s comments serve as a reminder of how cinema can reopen collective wounds, and how actors who choose such roles often carry the weight of public memory on their shoulders.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
