Special public prosecutor and now a Rajya Sabha member, Ujjwal Nikam visited The Free Press Journal office to talk about the movie Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam, where RajKummar Rao is portraying him.
“RajKummar Rao has acted fabulously. I would not say that he copied my role, but he acted in the film. He lived my character,” Nikam said.
According to Nikam, Rao prepared for the role by watching several videos of his court appearances and public interactions. Although the actor never attended the actual court proceedings, the footage helped him understand Nikam’s mannerisms, dialogue delivery and courtroom expressions. Besides Nikam said the direction by Avinash Arun is also “brilliant”.
Nikam said the filmmaker - Maddock Films with Dinesh Vijan approached him with a specific idea — not to make a conventional film about the 26/11 terror attack, but to focus on what happened during the trial, how the prosecution marshalled evidence and how the case unfolded in court.
“I asked them one pinpoint question — are you interested in doing a movie on the life of an advocate? They said yes. But I warned them that in the life of an advocate, there won’t be any filmy masala,” Nikam recalled laughingly.
Nikam however said the movie is not about him but it’s more of a courtroom drama. “When they discussed it with me, I told them not to glorify any character in the movie,” Nikam said.
The Kasab factor
For Nikam, one of the most important aspects of the film is its depiction of the decision to conduct a full-fledged trial of Ajmal Kasab despite his capture. He recalled that there had been questions at the time about why Kasab was not simply killed after being caught alive.
Nikam said the decision to follow due process and give Kasab a trial reflected India's commitment to constitutional principles — an aspect that, according to him, is also reflected in the film.
Complex legal battle recreated
The film, therefore, seeks to recreate not merely the terror attack itself but the complex legal battle that followed — including the examination of witnesses, presentation of evidence and the prosecution's efforts to establish the larger conspiracy behind the attacks.
Nikam said the filmmakers had taken the subject up as a challenge and attempted to show how the prosecution built the case despite the fact that Kasab had been captured alive and had subsequently taken different positions during the trial.
