Director Ram Gopal Varma might have courted controversy by visiting Taj Mahal hotel soon after it was freed from terrorists apparently to conceive a film but the idea of making films on real-time terror stories is not new in the country. After the year 1990, records show that at least 10 films have been made on the theme of terrorism which grabbed public attention either for its fine script or hype before the release. 'Roja' (1992), a Tamil film by National Award winner Mani Ratnam had an impressive script with the plot revolving around a government official Rishi (Arvind Goswami) who is abducted by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and held for ransom. His wife Roja then fights with the system to get his husband back. 'Dil Se' (1998) also by Mani Ratnam stars Shahrukh Khan, a reporter with All India Radio found his love in Manisha Koirala who plays a suicide bomber. The intense drama starts when Shahrukh came to know of the reality and preferred to save the nation by sacrificing himself. Incidentally this was the first time that four stalwarts of the film industry - Mani Ratnam, A R Rahman, Lata Mangeshkar and Gulzar had come together. 'Maachis' (1996) showcased the story of a Punjabi youth newcomer Chandrachur Singh, who joins a terrorist group to avenge the injustices done to him by the corrupt political system. The film by noted lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar was an attempt to look beyond the stereotyped image of terrorists. Blockbuster 'Sarfrosh' (1999) starring Aamir Khan was about terrorism and the proxy war being waged by Pakistan's secret service ISI against India. Directed by newcomer John Mathew Mathan, the film was a superhit. Similarly in much hyped film 'Fiza' (2000), story of a young Muslim girl Fiza (Karishma Kapoor) in search of her brother who had been missing during the communal riots of 1992-93 in Mumbai. Later her brother Amaan (Hrithik Roshan), turned out to become a terrorist. The film didn't do well at the box-office. Terrorism related movies have always scored well, moreover, it has been seen that patriotism whips emotions among audiences. The most recent flick "A Wednesday", (2009) received tremendous appreciation from critics. In the film Naseeruddin Shah calls up the Police Commissioner (Anupam Kher) to inform about bombs planted in several places around Mumbai. Another small time budget movie 'Black Friday' (2007) based on 1993 Mumbai blast, a series of explosions which decimated Mumbai over a period of two hours. The film which was in court for some years was premiered in 2004. Kashmir terrorism based movies has always drawn special attention, films like 'Fanaa' (2006) which was a story of Kashmiri muslim terrorist witnessed great success. Similarly, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Mission Kashmir' (2000) follows the life and tragedy of a boy Altaaf (Hrithik Roshan) after his entire family gets accidently killed by police involved in a gunbattle with terrorists.
