Another Bollywood film on east UP’s mafia culture

LUCKNOW: Bollywood’s fascination for dacoits, rebels and mafia of Uttar Pradesh’s badlands never seems to cease. After films on the lives of Phoolan Devi and the Malkhan Singh-Sulkhan Singh duo of the ravines of Chambal, a film is all set to depict the bloody gang wars of eastern Uttar Pradesh, in the backdrop of backwardness, poverty and unemployment.
This film, to be shot in and around Gorakhpur -- once the epicentre of gang wars and organised crimes in the eastern parts of the state -- will also depict how the Brahmin and Thakur leadership of the 70s in the state protected mafia dons of their caste to project them as Robin Hoods of the region to garner votes for the party.
The film will be based on the gang war between two warring Brahmin and Rajput chieftains from Gorakhpur in the late 70s over the lucrative business in railways and mining on river basin. It had left more than 50 of their gang members and supporters killed and scores others injured.
The film, which will star Sunny Deoal, Om Puri, Nasiruddin Shah, Huma Qureshi and Neha Dhupia, will be produced and directed by Kabir Kaushik, whose first film – Sahar -- was based on the life of dreaded mafia don of eastern UP, Shri Prakash Shukla.
In Sahar, Kaushik had narrated on the silver screen the encounter of Shri Prakash Shukla highlighting how bullets from his AK-47 guns had kept the state police on its toes and ministers seeking protection. He was finally eliminated by then STF chief Arun Kumar, now ADG CRPF based in Patna.
Shri Prakash Shukla was said to be protected by the Brahmin lobby cutting across political spectrum, while those from the Rajput community were primarily his target.
“I have carried out extensive research, met people who were active in the 70s and have come to the conclusion how the two notorious mafia dons of eastern UP were pampered and protected by the political system, state’s bureaucracy, police administration,” Kaushik told TOI on Saturday morning after a series of meetings with top officials of the state government, including chief secretary Alok Ranjan and principal secretary (information) Navneet Sehgal, to finalise the shooting schedule and government support.
Kaushik said that he has worked hard to get a feel of the emergence of the Robin Hood syndrome in eastern UP in the 70s, the consequent bloody wars and their protection by powerful politicians and later the same Robin Hoods elbowing out politicians from elections.