Arjun Rampal is currently being praised for his role in Dhurandhar, where he plays a dangerous ISI agent linked to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. However, what many may not know is that the actor has a personal connection to that tragic night in real life. Recently, at the Hello! Hall of Fame Awards, Arjun shared a chilling memory from November 26, 2008.
On that night, he was actually planning to go to the Taj Hotel in Mumbai to celebrate his birthday with friends. But an unexpected delay changed everything.
“On November 26, 2008, I was in this hotel (Four Seasons, Worli). I’d come to pick up my friends, and we were on our way to Taj because we were going there to celebrate my birthday. One guy was getting ready…God bless him. We were at the bar, we ordered a drink, and the first bomb went off near Mahim. I heard that sound, and my glass shook. We were like ‘What the hell was that? He said, “Within 10 minutes, our phones were ringing, and everybody said there’s some gang war that has broken out in Colaba, and we were asked not to go there. In 20 to 30 minutes, the whole Four Seasons was cordoned off. We were allowed to stay in the hotel that night and were asked not to go out as it was not safe. On my birthday, I saw the horrors of the 26/11 attacks play out.”
The next morning was equally disturbing for him. “In the morning, when I drove back home, I stopped at least three times because I thought I was going to be sick. When Aditya Dhar narrated to me the 26/11 scene, I knew I was going to have my revenge, and that’s what I did with Dhurandhar. All I want to say is ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.”
While shooting for Dhurandhar, recreating the 26/11 attack scenes was not easy for Arjun. The emotional weight of reliving such a painful event made it one of the toughest moments of his career.
When a fan asked him online how it felt to perform such a scene as an Indian, especially one so close to reality, Arjun gave a very honest answer. “@mandala 9348, most difficult scene of my life.”
His words reflect how deeply the experience affected him, both personally and professionally. Meanwhile, Dhurandhar 2 continues to perform strongly at the box office, with audiences appreciating its scale, performances, and emotional intensity.