Former CIA officer John Kiriakou gave a highly accurate score to Dev PatelThe true story film about the 2008 Mumbai attacks, released in 2019. Patel's best films show him in emotional roles, portraying captivating characters that are highly unique depending on the story he is contributing to. This includes everything from its theatrical debut in 2008 Slumdog Millionairefor his first film as a director as the main character in 2024 Monkey Man. His performances are often memorable thanks to the way he commands the screen whenever he's front and center.
In addition to original stories for the big screen, Patel has also starred in several adaptations of existing works. This includes 2019 The personal story of David Copperfieldwhere he played the title character, and 2021 The Green Knightwhere the Arthurian knight Gawain went. However, his talent also extends to films based on real eventshow to portray mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in 2015 biopic The man who knew infinity. But there's one real-world event that he brought to the big screen 11 years after the fact that remains a memorable part of his film career.
Patel's 2019 Movie Hotel Mumbai Is Accurate to Real-World Terrorist Attacks
CIA expert confirms the film's realism
According to Kiriakou, Patel's 2019 film Bombay Hotel is highly accurate to the events of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. the actor plays Arjun, a chef who works at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India. He ends up working closely with American guest David (Armie Hammer) as they try to escape the hotel while also getting as many people out as possible. The film has a 76% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, who state that while some may find certain scenes exploitative, the film never fails to portray the horrors that occurred.
Talking to Insider for your series How real is this?Kiriakou offered much praise for Bombay Hotelconsidering it highly accurate to what was happening during the 2008 terrorist attacks it depicts. During his analysis, from 3:34 p.m., the former CIA officer gave some context on the attackincluding how he was one of the few people to recognize it as a Kashmiri separatist group as it unfolded:
Oh my God, yes. I remember it like it was yesterday. What we see in this clip is just one aspect of what was a very well-coordinated and long-term attack in Mumbai. More than 100 people were killed. I was working for ABC News when this happened. I was a counterterrorism consultant at ABC News and decided to channel surf to see what everyone was saying about this attack. I got to CNN - it's Al-Qaeda. Go to Fox - it's Al-Qaeda. MSNBC – it’s Al-Qaeda. And I said to my wife, "Al-Qaeda has no problem with Indians. Why would they do something like that?" So I went to ABC, turned on the microphone and continued, and they asked me my initial impressions, and I said, "I don't think this is Al-Qaeda. I think this is a Kashmiri separatist group. It turns out it was a Kashmiri separatist group." Kashmir. We learned later, a year later, that they had carried out these attacks with Al-Qaeda training. and violent – among Indians and Pakistanis in the north of the country. But in Mumbai they had never experienced anything like this before.
He then praised the film for its portrayal of Patel's Arjun, saying that many hotel staff members ushered people out of the building, probably saving hundreds of lives. Kiriakou ends the segment by giving the film a 9 out of 10 for real-world accuracy. Also check out what Kiriakou has to say in the video below:
Yes, the hotel staff. This is really the story here. They were absolutely heroic in their quick thinking to save probably hundreds of hotel guests. They managed to get them out of the hotel. Yes, that movie was right. I would give it a 9 or 10 [out of 10]. This was an excellent film.
What Kiriakou's analysis says about Hotel Mumbai's accuracy
The film perfectly encapsulates the horrors of that day
Kiriakou's praise for Patel's historical film shows that despite some negativity critics expressed about its depiction of the events, the way it portrayed them was faithful to real life. This does Bombay Hotel an important part Patelhis film career, as his performance was crucial to how events on screen were portrayed. With the film accurately presenting such an important event during India's history, it becomes one of the most memorable films the actor has ever starred in.
Source: Insider/YouTube