Emraan Hashmi on Pahalgam attack: Terrorism has no religion, I hope we take payback

Emraan Hashmi in a still from ‘Ground Zero’

Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi on Monday (April 28) said that terrorism has no religion and that he hopes the Indian government takes ‘payback’ for the tragic Pahalgam terror attack. The actor said this while promoting his recent release, Ground Zero, in which he plays a Border Security Force officer leading an operation to eliminate a terrorist in the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.

In an interview with actor Vishal Malhotra on the latter’s YouTube channel, Hashmi spoke about his experience spending time with the BSF while researching for Ground Zero. “While conversing with them, what they told me was that this peaceful situation — that we’ve been witnessing for the last 15 years — is on a slow simmer. Until we are there on the border, it will be at a specific boiling point. They have foiled so many terrorist attacks that we don’t come to know about.”

Also read | Pahalgam terror attack: a tribute to the victims

Vishal then veered the conversation towards the Pahalgam attack, stating how many civilians were brutally killed. Emraan said that while questions are being raised on the security arrangements for tourists at the Baisaran meadow where the attack took place, it isn’t easy to cover the entire meadow. “I am sure the security agencies have a detailed lowdown of this (attack). Our intelligence agencies are good, and yeah, the question does arise if there should have been some security there, but it was a huge meadow. How many officers or jawans could have been deployed there? It was a tourist hotspot. It seems like a very well-planned attack because it was at the heart of that tourist attraction, and there were no pathways nearby. They just fled. It’s a cowardly attack,” said Hashmi.

“I just hope we set this right and we take payback,” added Emraan before speaking about his experience shooting in Kashmir for Ground Zero. Then, when Vishal stated that religion shouldn’t be brought into this topic, Hashmi said, “Terrorism never has a religion. They (terrorists) have a very warped ideology. Our religion never teaches such things. We should all stand united in this situation.”

A heinous terrorist attack aimed at civilians, the Pahalgam tragedy has sent shockwaves across the country. At least 26 people, including two foreign tourists, were killed by a group of terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. Many Indian celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Mohanlal, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Sanjay Dutt, and Vicky Kaushal, amongst others condemned the attack.

Emraan’s Ground Zero is an action thriller inspired by true events. Directed by Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar, the film is set in Kashmir in the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and has the actor portray real-life Kirti Chakra awardee Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey. Sai Tamhankar, Zoya Hussain, Mukesh Tiwari, Deepak Parmesh, Lalit Prabhakar, Rockey Raina and Rahul Vohra are part of the cast. The film is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Movies.

The Hindu’s review of Ground Zero called it a ‘conflicting watch’ and said this about Emraan’s performance: “In a film full of sudden attacks, the biggest curveball lobbed at the audience is this: Emraan Hashmi as a moral warrior. The actor, once known for playing smirking playboys and crooks, is a sharp, solid presence in Ground Zero, but perhaps his delicate underplaying was better suited for a less aggressive time.”