New Delhi, March 23 Arjun Rampal says he considers Aditya Dhar's two-part film "Dhurandhar" to be a form of revenge against the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai, which occurred on his 36th birthday in 2008.
Rampal said he and his friends had planned to host a party at the Taj Hotels, but ended up at another hotel due to a last-minute change of plans, and that's when they heard about the attacks in different parts of Mumbai.
"In 2008, during 26/11, I was in this hotel. I had come to pick up my friends. We were on our way to the Taj Hotel because we were going to celebrate my birthday and 26/11 also happened to be my birthday. One guy was getting ready. We were at the bar, and we ordered a drink and the first bomb went off near Mahim. I heard that sound and the whole glass kind of shook and rattled, and we were like, 'what the hell was that,' " Rampal, who plays the antagonist Major Iqbal in the film, said at the Hello! Hall of Fame Awards on Sunday night.
The actor said they initially thought some gang war had broken out in Colaba.
Within 20-30 minutes, the entire Four Seasons (hotel) was cordoned off. Adarsh Jatia (Managing Director, Provenance Land, owner of Four Seasons Hotel) very gracefully gave me a suite and said 'you could stay here for the night, but we can't let anybody go out, it's not safe'. And on my birthday, I saw the horrors of 26/11 play out," the actor added.
Rampal said he stopped several times while driving back to his place the next day.
"In the morning when I drove back home, I had to stop at least three times because I thought I was going to be sick. When Aditya Dhar narrated to me the 26/11 scene, I knew I was going to have my revenge, and that's what I did with 'Dhurandhar'. And all I want to say is Bharat Mata Ki Jai," he said.
"Dhurandhar" ends with the 26/11 attacks, and the second part, "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" shows how Ranveer Singh's spy Hamza Ali Mazari goes on to extract revenge.
The film, released on March 19, has already crossed Rs 761 crore in its opening weekend and is likely to soon reach Rs 1000 crore at the global box office.
The film also stars R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi.
