Encounter! Bollywood’s brush with real life crime dramas
The recent encounter of Vikas Dubey, a UP-based dreaded shooter, is being touted as a perfectly scripted event can make its way to a movie script. For now, here are other movies that showcase or are based on real life encounters.
After shooter Vikas Dubey’s recent encounter, social media has been flooded with memes on how it was quite a filmi scenario. The prospects of a movie, based on the incident are also strong. Quite a few celebrities have tweeted about the intriguing twists in the encounter and #VikasDubeyEncounter has also trended on the internet. While there are assumptions on names who could take up this real life drama to adapt it for the big screen, here are some of the Bollwyood films based on much-talked about encounters in the past.
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
Produced by Ram Gopal Varma, the story of Ab Tak Chhappan revolves around police inspector Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar), who is part of a Mumbai Encounter Squad. The squad is popularly known for having killed 56 people in police encounters. This movie is said to have been inspired by the life of Mumbai Police sub-inspector, Daya Nayak. Patekar was applauded for his strong portrayal and relatable act in this film.
Black Friday (2004)
Due to a controversy, the film got initially banned, and released later in 2007. It’s reportedly based on the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, this movie has some sterling performances by ace actors KK Menon, Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Kashyap, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui among others. The film was appreciated both for its direction and quality music.
Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007)
This film is based on the 1991 shootout in Lokhandwala Complex, where a real life gun battle took place between gangsters and Mumbai Police with a force of around 400 armed policemen. Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, the film had an ensemble cast starring actors Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Amitabh Bachchan, Dia Mirza and others.
Oberoi is remembered for delivering one of his best performances in this film, and enacting a dreaded gangster Maya Dolas, who was hidden inside the complex.
D-Day (2013)
This cinematic piece is believed to have been inspired by the true story of how the United States decided to take down militant Osama Bin Laden. The narrative is also about bringing back a Dawood-like don who is showcased to be responsible for all serial blasts in India. Late actor Rishi Kappor, who depicted the role of the don, is a delight to watch in this Nikkhil Advani directorial, which keeps a viewer on the edge throughout the duration of the film.
Batla House (2019)
Starring actor John Abraham, this film is inspired by the Batla House encounter case that took place on in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, on September 19, 2008. The film shows the aftermath of the encounter, and Abraham in the lead portrays a Delhi Police cop Sanjay Kumar, who had played a crucial role in this case. According to some news reports, the encounter had claimed lives of two terrorists who were involved in several bombings across the country.
Author tweets @ruchikagarg271