Now a Bollywood film on Somalian sea pirates

Siddharth Roy Kapur describes it as a “unique and exciting subject” that his banner’s team has been developing for many months.

Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur has signed on director Vinil Mathew and screenwriter Sudip Sharma for a dramatic thriller inspired by true events surrounding a pirate attack off the Somalian coast. To be produced under the Roy Kapur Films banner, the movie is inspired by the true story of merchant navy officer Audumbar Bhoi whose ship and crew was attacked by Somalian pirates, a statement said.

In this photo taken on Monday, March 6, 2017, fishermen stand on the Indian Ocean beach at dusk in the former pirate village of Eyl, in Somalia’s semiautonomous northeastern state of Puntland. (AP Photo)

Kapur describes it as a “unique and exciting subject” that his banner’s team has been developing for many months. “The film is based on true events involving piracy on the Somalian high seas and is told through the eyes of a young Indian merchant navy officer, who has to navigate through unimaginably perilous circumstances, while dealing with huge personal challenges. It is a thrilling, dramatic and emotional journey, and we couldn’t have asked for a better director than Vinil Mathew to tell this story. Also, having Sudip on board as screenwriter for the film is a huge advantage, as he unfailingly creates memorable characters, inhabits them in authentic worlds, and in the process creates strong conflicts and riveting drama,” he said.

Sharma said while he is normally wary of writing commissioned scripts for producers, it is different for Kapur as he allows creative freedom. “When he pitched this story to me, I just jumped at it because it has the potential to be a tense hostage drama cum survival story, and lets you explore Somalia and maritime piracy, a world hitherto unseen in Hindi films,” he said.

Over the past few months, intensive research on the Indian merchant navy life, as well as on the Somali piracy problem and its impact on the many Indian families that have been affected by it, has been underway.

The film is likely to go on floors in the second half of 2018.