London bombing inspired veteran Hindu filmmaker's latest Last Updated Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:32:31 EST CBC Arts
Last July's public transit bombings in London have inspired a new film by a veteran Hindu filmmaker.
Director, producer and screenwriter Mahesh Bhatt has revealed that his upcoming movie will tentatively be titled Suicide Bomber.
According to Bhatt, the film will tell the fictionalized story of a young Muslim bomber who is part of the July 2005 bombing but fails to detonate his explosives. The young man then flees to India, where he begins to question the motives behind the act.
"It's not a replay of what happened in London," Bhatt said Monday, according to the Associated Press. "That event was a trigger to get into the mind of a [fictional] suicide bomber born in Britain to a Pakistani father and Indian mother."
On July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers detonated bombs on the London Underground system and on a bus, killing more than 50 people and injuring hundreds. Police have arrested a number of suspects alleged to have planned a failed copycat bombing attempt two weeks later.
Bhatt said the film, starring his 21-year-old son Rahul, will explore a bomber's state of mine.
"What happens to the guy if he is alive now? Will he be filled with remorse?" the outspoken and sometimes controversial filmmaker said.
"What happens to his commitment to die, or does it stoke his thirst for life? That is where this story is born."
Last week, Bhatt said that his goal is to "highlight that Islam is a religion of peace and not dreadful as it is perceived by the world."
Filming is scheduled to begin in both the U.K. and in India this summer. Bhatt has said he hopes for a December 2006 release of the film, which will include the singing and dancing of traditional Bollywood movies.
Bhatt is the son of accomplished 1950s and 1960s filmmaker Nanabhai Bhatt. Other members of his family, including his son, daughter and nephew, are also involved in the South Asian film industry.