On the 12th anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Nikkhil Advani released the teaser of Mumbai Diaries 26/11, starring Konkona Sensharma, Mohit Raina and Shreya Dhanwanthary. Soon after, a debate ensued on Twitter, with a section of netizens posing the same question that had been raised during the release of Anthony Maras’s film, Hotel Mumbai (2019): Is it yet another example of tragedy porn?

Taking the critique in his stride, Advani, who is dabbling in long-format storytelling over four years after POW: Bandi Yuddh Ke, asserts that only in understanding the past, can we strive for a better future. “One of my favourite books begins with a quote by US novelist George Santayana: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The book in question is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. We should never let go of the memory of the past,” says the creator-director.