Actor and producer Viveck Vaswani has revisited one of the most unsettling days of modern history, recalling where he was when the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States unfolded. Vaswani was in Toronto at the time for the world premiere of his first English-language film, which had been selected for the Toronto International Film Festival. What began as an exciting festival morning quickly turned into a moment he says he will never forget.
A festival morning before the news broke
Vaswani shared a throwback photograph featuring himself alongside actors Pooja Bhatt and Rahul Bose. The image dates from the period surrounding the festival appearance of his English-language film and accompanied a personal recollection of September 11, 2001.
In his post, Vaswani remembered arriving at the festival with considerable excitement. It was a particularly important professional moment for him because the film marked his first project in English and had earned an official selection at TIFF.
He recalled waking up early that morning with Ashutosh and heading out to watch Monsoon Wedding. They entered the cinema in what felt like an ordinary Toronto morning, but by the time they came out around 10 a.m., the news from the United States had transformed the atmosphere completely.
‘The world had changed’ after the attacks
Vaswani described the moment he learned what had happened in the United States as the point when an otherwise memorable festival day took an entirely different turn. In his social media post, he reflected on how quickly the events of that morning changed the world around him.
He also referred to the anniversary of the attacks and expressed his view that the lessons of such a tragedy remain relevant. His post ended with the literary reference, “Who is John Galt?”, a phrase associated with Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged.
The remembrance came as people around the world marked another anniversary of the attacks that claimed thousands of lives.
The September 11 attacks
On September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers took control of four commercial passenger aircraft in the United States. Two planes were deliberately flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, while another struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
A fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the plane. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people, excluding the 19 hijackers, and had far-reaching consequences in the United States and around the world.
Vaswani’s work across Indian cinema
Viveck Vaswani has worked in several capacities across the Indian entertainment industry, including acting and film production. Over the years, he has also been involved in writing and has been associated with projects spanning different phases of Hindi cinema.
His September 11 recollection offered a personal snapshot of a historic day, connecting an important moment in his professional journey with an event that profoundly altered the course of global affairs.