Rajkummar Rao steps into the courtroom — and into Ujjwal Nikam’s skin, in Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam, a film that refuses to be another 26/11 spectacle. No explosions. No heroics. Just the quiet, relentless weight of legal process. Nikam, the real-life special public prosecutor who led the case against Ajmal Kasab, sat down with FPJ to talk about the movie. And what it gets right, and what it doesn’t. He didn’t want a biopic. He wanted a trial. And that’s exactly what he got. The film, directed by Avinash Arun and produced by Maddock Films with Dinesh Vijan, isn’t about a man. It’s about a principle: the decision to try Kasab, not execute him. That choice, controversial at the time. Is the spine of the story. Nikam says the filmmakers were clear from the start: this wouldn’t be a ‘filmy masala’ affair. No dramatic monologues. No revenge arcs. Just evidence, testimony, and the slow burn of building a case. Rao, according to Nikam, didn’t mimic him. He inhabited him. Footage of Nikam’s court appearances, his tone, posture, delivery. Was the actor’s playbook. But no actual court visits. Still, the performance lands. Nikam calls it “fabulous.” He also warned them early on: don’t glorify anyone. Not him. Not Kasab. Not even the system. The film, he says, reflects India’s commitment to due process, even when the accused is a terrorist. That’s rare. That’s deliberate. And it’s why the trailer drops on October 16, just days after the film’s release. No red carpet. No fanfare. Just the sound of a gavel. And the silence that follows.