Taglines: November 26, 2008… Terror struck the heart of India.
The film opens in Mumbai, India on November 26, 2008. A group of 12 young men arrives on a small inflatable raft. Each of them carries a huge backpack and a cellphone with an earpiece. The leader of the group, known as “Brother Bull” gives the men instructions. They break off into pairs and get into a taxi, giving different destinations such as the Victoria Terminus, the Leopold Cafe, and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
In a nearby village, Arjun (Dev Patel) kisses his pregnant wife and small daughter goodbye as he leaves for work at the Taj. In his haste, he forgets one of his shoes. At the Taj, the staff prepares rooms and welcome guests from all over the world. Among them is Iranian-British heiress Zahra (Nazanin Boniadi), her American husband David (Armie Hammer), their infant son Cameron and his nanny Sally (Tilda Cobham-Hervey).
In the kitchen, head chef Hemant Oberoi inspects the wait staff. He notices Arjun in sandals and tries to send him home, but after some convincing, he sends him upstairs to get an extra pair of shoes in his office. On the TV monitor, a breaking news bulletin plays about an attack at the Victoria Terminus. The two terrorists that just shot up the Victoria train station hijack a police car and continue their killing spree.
Zahra and David eat dinner in the hotel’s restaurant while Sally stays upstairs to wait for a doctor because Cameron feels slightly warm. Oberoi tells the staff to treat the couple like royalty, as well as another guest Vasili (Jason Isaacs). The Russian businessman requests a special cognac, so one of the waiters Sanjay (Gaurav Paswala) goes out to buy some. As he walks to the store, he almost hit by the taxi carrying two of the terrorists. He starts arguing with the driver as the two men leave the car.
Inside the Leopold Cafe, tourist Eddie (Angus McLaren) and his girlfriend Bree (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) watch the exchange with mild amusement. They decide to head the Taj next, so they begin to pay for their meal. The waiter is suddenly shot, and a grenade is thrown into the cafe. The two men enter and begin coldly shooting people. Eddie and Bree escape and run down the streets with a huge group of people.
News of the attacks is starting to reach the hotel. The staff is worried but try to remain calm in front of the guests. The group runs to the Taj and begs for sanctuary. Hotel Manager Dilip (Vipin Sharma) opens the doors, and the people rush inside. Among them are four of the terrorists (Imran, Abdullah, Houssam, Rashid). They immediately pull out guns and start massacring everyone in sight. Bree and Eddie are separated during the melee, with Bree seemingly killed when she tries to run for the exit.
Hotel Mumbai is an Indian-American-Australian thriller film directed by Anthony Maras and written by John Collee and Maras. It is based on the 2009 documentary Surviving Mumbai about the Mumbai attacks in 2008 at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India. The film stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Jason Isaacs, Suhail Nayyar and Natasha Liu Bordizzo.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018. It was released on March 29, 2019, by Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures in the US and on Netflix for India and Southeast Asian territories. In August 2016, principal photography on the film began in Adelaide, Australia. Filming continued in India in early 2017.
Hotel Mumbai (2019)
Directed by: Anthony Maras
Starring: Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Jason Isaacs, Suhail Nayyar, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ansuya Nathan, Mariette Valsan, Zenia Starr
Screenplay by: John Collee, Anthony Maras
Production Design by: Steven Jones-Evans
Cinematography by: Nick Remy Matthews
Film Editing by: Peter McNulty
Costume Design by: Anna Borghesi
Set Decoration by: Nicki Gardiner
Art Direction by: Dilip More, Marita Mussett
Music by: Volker Bertelmann
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violence throughout, bloody images, and language.
Distributed by: Bleecker Street
Release Date: March 22, 2019
Visits: 25
