New Delhi: Over a year after ZEE5 streamed its web series based on the 26/11 terrorist attack, the OTT platform has come up with the second edition of its State of Siege series. This time, the platform has narrated the heroic tale of the NSG Commandos, who led the counter-insurgency operation at Akshardham Temple in Gujarat in September 2002. The State of Siege- Temple Attack is streaming on ZEE5.

The film’s producer Abhimanyu Singh and director Ken Ghosh, and ZEE5, head, Hindi Originals Nimisha Pandey got into a freewheeling conversation with Indiantelevision.com Group, founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari to talk about the making of the film. They were joined by film's cast Gautam Rode and Vivek Dahiya along with Lt Col Sundeep Sen who worked as a consultant (military veteran) on the film. The virtual roundtable - ‘The making of the State of Siege: Temple Attack’ was presented by Contiloe Pictures.

The film comes a year after the OTT platform launched State of Siege: 26/11, which was based on Sandip Unnithan's book Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11. Unlike the first edition which was released in eight episodes, this time ZEE5 has launched the State of Siege as a digital film.

“We launched the first web series in March 2020, just when the lockdown began and it remains one of the most-watched series on the platform,” said ZEE5, head, Hindi Originals Nimisha Pandey, “OTT has given us huge freedom, as we are no longer tied up with formats. In today’s time, stories decide which format they should be going into. In the case of Temple Attack, we decided to make a feature film because the story couldn’t have been stretched up to six-seven episodes.”

Elaborating on the audience response, Pandey said the interest for the film has spiked since its launch on 9 July and performed reasonably well over the last weekend. “We had launched it in Hindi and dubbed it in Tamil and Telugu, and it is good to know that the film is doing well pan-India across all three languages,” said Pandey.

“It was a story worth telling,” said producer Abhimanyu Singh, who initially conceptualised the film. “After reading into the subject and doing our research, we thought that nothing has been told from the commandos’ point of view. The more we delved into it, the more we realised how fantastic this story was.”

The film was shot across different states including Himachal Pradesh, amid the challenges thrown by the pandemic. However, the most daunting part of the job was the post-production process, which had to be done remotely, said director Ken Ghosh. “It was challenging to do the post-production during the pandemic, and we had to coordinate on virtual calls. But we managed to pull it off. We have done a lot of research and brought in symbolism in certain scenes. We also tried to ensure that the action looks very real,” said Ghosh.

Son of a Naval officer, Ghosh said he drew experiences from his childhood and was elated to take up the project. “I have always wanted to do a war-based movie,” he added.

The film marks Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna’s debut on the OTT. It also stars Abhimanyu Singh, Gautam Rode, Vivek Dahiya, Akshay Oberoi, Parvin Dabas, Samir Soni, Mir Sarwar, and Manjari Fadnis.

“It was challenging initially, but we went with the director’s vision and Col Sen's guidance throughout helped in getting the action scenes right,” said actor Gautam Rode, who plays Major Samar in the movie. “We have managed to keep it real, and tried to avoid any over-dramatization."

Vivek Dahiya who was also part of the SOS: 26/11, said, people were eager to know more about the Akshardham attack, which generated interest for the film. Dahiya plays an NSG commando who is new to the team but is sent to rescue hostages who are being held by terrorists at the temple. "I am glad I got the opportunity to be part of this role. The whole experience has wholly transformed me," he said.

Lt Colonel Sundeep Sen said he tried to ensure that nothing that’s shown in the movie comes across as derogatory to the Armed forces. “Very few people dare to tell such stories. There has to be sincerity in the effort, and I found that in the team,” he said.

The film is currently streaming on ZEE5.