Mumbai: Actor Vikrant Massey says he has received death threats on social media but he is not worried as his upcoming film “The Sabarmati Report”, set in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning incident in 2002, is “purely based on facts”.
Massey will be seen as a vernacular journalist in the upcoming thriller drama that the makers are claiming is “inspired by true events”. It is produced by Ektaa R Kapoor and directed by Dheeraj Sarna. The film also stars Ridhi Dogra and Raashii Khanna.
“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,” Massey told reporters here at the trailer launch of the film.
“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,” he said when asked about the Gujarat riots that followed the incident.
When Massey was asked why he decided to board the movie given that there are many facets to the story, Kapoor said she would answer the question 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 said, adding that telling one story doesn’t mean that one is undermining the others.
Kapoor described the film as a “social commentary” when asked if the film could instigate communal tension. She said she is a Hindu but (being a) “Hindu means you are secular”.
“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,” she said.
Kapoor also denied any political influence in making the movie on the incident in which 59 people were killed near Godhra train station when the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt.
The incident triggered communal riots in Gujarat that claimed more than 1,000 lives, mostly 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.
Massey, who has become a major star after the success of “12th Fail”, said Kapoor gave him his first break in movies with 2013’s “Lootera” and since then they have worked on several 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, drawing parallels with the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York and the Godhra incident.
Also produced by Shobha Kapoor, Amul V Mohan and Anshul Mohan, the film is slated to release in theatres on November 15.
