On 10th July ’20, the Indian gangster Vikas Dubey was allegedly encountered and a large section of people had raised questioned over this. The Supreme Court of India has also set up a three member panel to further investigate the matter. Hansal Mehta’s attention was caught by this incident, and the filmmaker is all set to make a web series on the notorious gangster, who was also named as ‘Gabbar of Bikru’.
On 9th July ’20, he was arrested in Ujjain and the next day, Dubey was shot dead when he tried to run away from the police custody. Producer Shailesh Singh, who has acquired the rights to tell the gangster’s story, told Mid-Day, “I had been following the events closely and thought, why not tell this story to the entire nation and bring out the facts?” It took some convincing for Vikas Dubey’s family to agree to part with the story. “It’s a recent event, and they are still coping with it. Many people had approached them, but we managed to convince them after much persuasion. They want his story to be depicted with authenticity.”
Vikas Dubey’s first criminal case was filed in the year 1991. Since then, he has faced almost 61 FIRs. He became the national spotlight after he killed the BJP leader Santosh Shukla, inside the Shivli Police station, in the year 2001. He was encountered on the eighth day of the chase that began on July 2, where his men killed around 8 UP Policemen who had gone to arrest Vikas.
Hansal Mehta believes the biopic would have made different sides to it, “It is an important story, which is a reflection of our times where politics, crime and lawmakers form a curious nexus. I see an edgy political thriller emerging from this [material].” The director has yet to zero in on the cast. “I have some thoughts [on who I want to rope in], but let the writing happen first,” he told the publication.
