Paatal Lok director Prosit Roy is set to work with actor Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger, Guns & Gulaabs) for the film adaptation of Puja Changoiwala's non-fiction book Gangster on the Run.
It's a true account of Rahul Jadhav a.k.a "Bhiku" (inspired by Satya), a reformed tech-savvy gangster and hitman who became a de-addiction counselor and marathon runner.
Variety reports that Roy will direct from a script by Abhishek Banerjee, who wrote for Paatal Lok and also collaborated with Roy on the film Pari, which starred Anushka Sharma.
Roy co-directed Season 1 of Paatal Lok alongside Avinash Arun. For Season 2, Arun was the sole director, while Banerjee contributed to the writing.
Here's the Amazon synopsis of the book: "He ran from a life of drugs and bullets. Now, he runs to shatter records. Rahul Jadhav took the name 'Bhiku' after a character from the 1998 cult classic Satya - a gangster who was everything Rahul once wanted to be. Capturing his don's attention as a tech-literate criminal, running his extortion ring over Skype, Rahul found himself shouting threats down the barrel of his gun and became one of the most wanted gangsters of his time. After his arrest in 2007, the extortionist and hitman was left a shadow of his former self, ravaged by alcoholism and drug abuse, which twisted his mind into a near schizophrenic state. That was only part of his journey. Today, the gunrunner is an ultra-marathoner who has covered nearly 10,000 kilometres - including a 2019 run from Gateway of India to India Gate - and aims to shatter the national stadium run record. Written by award-winning journalist Puja Changoiwala, this is the extraordinary story of a hitman who became a de-addiction counselor and outran his demons, leaving them far behind in the murky shadows of gangland."
The makers are expecting to get global attention for Gangster on the Run, with collaborations with international productions being discussed. The project was showcased at the WAVES Film Bazaar, the film market section at this year's edition of the International Film Festival of Goa (IFFI).
In an official statement to Variety, Adarsh said, “Rahul is one of the most layered, demanding characters I’ve encountered — someone shaped by violence yet capable of profound transformation,” Gourav said. “It’s the kind of role that forces you to dig deep as an actor, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with Prosit on a story this raw and universal.
On being drawn to the subject, Roy shared: “Rahul’s story has the emotional power, complexity, and cinematic tension that translates anywhere in the world. It’s a gritty, human tale that blends redemption, identity, and consequence.”
Adarsh was last seen in Reema Kagti's Superboys of Malegaon (currently streaming on Prime Video) and Noah Hawley's series Alien: Earth (streaming on JioHotstar).