Editor's Desk 
What the film ‘Last Man in Tower’ says about Mumbai: ‘No corner of the city’s left untouched’
American director Ben Rekhi has had a productive 2026. His documentary Breaking the Code, about his father, Indian-American entrepreneur Kanwal Rekhi, was screened at film festivals earlier in the year. Rekhi’s feature Last Man in Tower will be released in cinemas on September 11.
The Hindi-language film, adapted by Sooni Taraporevala from the Aravind Adiga novel of the same name, stars Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role. Co-produced by Rana Daggubati, the movie will be released on September 11 in cinemas.
Bajpayee plays Yogesh Mishra, a retired school teacher who opposes a proposal to redevelop his decades-old building in Mumbai. Yogesh, who’s also known as Masterji, is increasingly isolated in his stand against the builder Dharmesh Shah (Boman Irani).
Various neighbours initially support and then turn against Yogesh. His neighbour Sangeeta Puri (Divya Dutta) turns out to be a formidable adversary. Even Yogesh’s son Gaurav (Sukant Goel) rejects Yogesh’s principled position against what he believes to be the end of a way of life.
While Ben Rekhi was born and raised in California, he has been living in Mumbai for the past four years. Rekhi’s experience of the megapolis, particularly its obsession with redevelopment, informed Last Man in Tower, he told Scroll. Here are edited experts from the interview.
What relationship do you have with Mumbai?
I grew up…
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