From 'Sarkar' to the 'Stoneman'

He became known with Sarkar, which he wrote for Ram Gopal Varma, but Manish Gupta is more keen that people recognise him as a director now with The Stoneman Murders.
The subject is something that fascinated him. ���I���d read in The Times of India about infamous serial killer cases. Amongst them was the ���Stoneman��� or ���Patharmaar���. This killer���s identity has still not been detected and the case is an unsolved mystery.This aspect intrigued me,��� revealed Manish.
But, he admitted, that the films he wrote earlier too, like Sarkar and D, both had dark undertones.
���I choose subjects that are close to reality,��� said Manish. As to why Bobby Bedi and Sheetal Vinod Talwar are producing The Stoneman Murders and not RGV, there is another story. ���Bobby, because he���s produced landmark films like Bandit Queen, Maqbool and Fire among others. I felt my film fell in the same genre. Bobby works with worthy directors like Shekhar Kapur, Vishal Bhardwaj and Deepa Mehta only. On the other hand, Sheetal has done a brilliant job of promoting the film,��� said Manish.
His star cast is unsurprising. Kay Kay Menon as the leading man? Manish laughed, ���Because of his sheer intensity. I���d developed a rapport with him on the sets of Sarkar and we���d decided to work together that time itself.��� And Arbaaz? ���Because I liked his work in Shootout at Lokhandwala where he���d played a cop too. Also because he is the only actor in Bollywood who does not have an ego about playing second lead to another actor.���
His transition from writer to director was smooth. ���I���d directed one story of Darna Zaroori Hai that had six stories and six different directors for each story. That gave me the necessary experience to direct a full-length film on my own,��� said the man, who is out to shock audiences with The Stoneman Murders now.