Two characters have been named after David Headley and Sajid Mir and two others modelled on Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 22, 2015)



Sajid Nadiadwala's upcoming action thriller, Phantom, revolves around global terrorism and has been shot in Lebanon, Syria, the UK, Canada and India. Back home, they filmed in Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab's Malerkotla. Last September, the espionage drama featuring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif wrapped up in Mumbai. The film is an adaptation of S. Hussain Zaidi's recent novel (with Gabriel Khan), Mumbai Avengers.

The attacks began on the Black Wednesday of November 26, 2008, and continued for the next four days. Ten members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant organisation in Pakistan, carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai, killing 164 and wounding at least 308. Only one of the 10 attackers, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive and hanged on November 21, 2012. But many of the masterminds got away.

In Hussain's novel, five years after the attacks, a retired army officer spearheads a covert mission with a team of daredevil agents to seek out and kill these terror masterminds, one by one, making sure that the assassinations look like natural deaths. The best-selling author has collaborated on the screenplay and Mirror has learnt that some of the terror suspects have found their way into the fictional plot. These include David Headley and Sajid Mir. "Yes, there are characters named after both these men," says a source.

Headley, the Pakistani-American LeT terrorist, is currently serving a 35-year-sentence but Sajid Mir, who allegedly was Headley's handler, has vanished. According to intelligence provided by the Mossad, he is holed up in Muridke near Lahore.

The mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, is also supposed to be living in a safe house near Lahore.

"He is one of the four main villains in the film, but his name has been changed to Sabauddin Umvi. One of the other bad guys is modelled after Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba which carried out the audacious attacks. However, to ensure that the content doesn't get too explosive and there are no diplomatic issues with Pakistan, the makers have prudently decided to change his name to Harif Saeed," informs the source. "But viewers will be left in little doubt about who these two characters are inspired by."

The United Nations in December 2008 declared the Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist organisation, and branded its chief Hafiz Saeed a terrorist. But Saeed, who carries a bounty of $10 million on his head, allegedly roams around freely in Pakistan, making inflammatory statements against India.

We sent a text to Sajid Nadiadwala but he chose not to respond.