Emraan Hashmi is all set to serve the nation on screen, five years after Ribhu Dasgupta’s Netflix India spy thriller show Bard of Blood. He’ll be seen as Border Security Force (BSF) officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey in Tejas Vijay Deoskar’s military action drama Ground Zero. Based on the operation that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks on the Parliament in New Delhi and Akshardham Temple in Gujarat, Ground Zero is co-produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment.
“Truth is stranger than fiction. This phrase is so appropriate for this story. I remember when I first met Dubey ji, whose character I’m playing, I told him the story is even more filmy than films. The way all these officers planned this operation and executed the final encounter in 2003, it’s extraordinary and unbelievable,” said Emraan Hashmi at the trailer launch of Ground Zero in Mumbai on Monday.
“The other thing that I was surprised by is how there’s no mention of this operation in the public domain, in the media. I’m very fortunate that we’ve got the opportunity to show this film on the big screen. It’s a fabulous cinematic watch. Not because it’s got action, drama, and thrills, but also because at its heart, it’s an emotional, human story, and the story of the sacrifice of these BSF officers,” added Emraan.
Emraan Hashmi also explained the significance the operation holds in India’s battle against terrorism. “It destabilized the entire infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammed. The organisation couldn’t plan even a single operation on the Indian soil for 13 years after that. And not too many people know that. It was a story waiting to be told. But yes, better late than never,” said Emraan.
Ritesh Sidhwani echoed his thoughts and added, “We knew about the attacks on the Parliament and Akshar Dham. But we didn’t know about the Jammu & Kashmir police and the BSF coming together for this operation.”
The event was also graced by Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, the BSF officer who led the operation. “This creation will bring out in the public the contribution of BSF in controlling terrorism for 15 years in Kashmir. We never imagined that this operation will be presented in such a big film 22 years after it took place,” said Dubey. He also revealed that he still has a bullet lodged deep in his body from that operation. Dubey added that a bravery medal on his chest saved him from further bullet wounds, further consolidating Emraan’s claim that the real-life story is even “more filmy than films.”
Watch Emraan Hashmi-starrer Ground Zero trailer here:
Emraan Hashmi expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to play a military officer for the first time in his career. “Playing a military officer is on every actor’s bucket list. It was on mine too,” said Emraan, recalling how he trained for the part. “One should have a basic disciplinary body language. I’ll give credit to the BSF jawans in Srinagar. We went there for five days for training. They showed us how to salute, how to follow protocol, how to take cover, how to reload rifles, and how to shoot. These helped not only my performance but also all the other actors. We didn’t just turn up in uniform on set. That brought gravitas and credibility to our roles,” added the actor.
Story continues below this ad
Three years ago, rumours did the rounds that Emraan was injured on Ground Zero set after stone pelting from the local population in Kashmir, only for the actor to dismiss them later. Emraan reiterated the pleasant experience he had in the state at the event. “We had the support of the BSF, Srinagar police, and even the people there. There’s a decorum there. We never faced any problems or hurdles in our shooting. I went to Srinagar for the first time but I really loved the place. The 30-35 days we spent shooting in Srinagar was a breeze,” he said.
Ground Zero is slated to release in cinemas on April 25.
