New Delhi: In 2022, Charles Shobhraj reached out to former Tihar jailor Sunil Gupta and senior journalist Sunetra Choudhury. The bikini killer wanted to promote the book they co-wrote, he called it accurate.
“I politely declined the offer,” said Gupta during a discussion on their book Black Warrant, which has now been adapted into a hit Netflix docudrama by Vikramaditya Motwane. Gupta was joined by his co-author Choudhary and actor Zahan Kapoor, who played the jailor’s role in the web series. The event titled ‘From Real to Reel’ was held on 3 March at Roli Books, Greater Kailash and moderated by Priya Kapoor, director of Roli Books. Black Warrant captures life inside India’s biggest jail and some of the high-profile executions in the 1980s.
Sitting among a small gathering of 30 people, Kapoor revealed how his audition for the show was similar to Sunil Gupta’s job interview at Tihar. The opening scene shows how Sunil is nearly rejected before he makes the cut for the job, but only after dreaded criminal Charles Shobhraj’s intervention.
“The audition felt very meta, because I was also auditioning for the role there just like Sunil sir did in reality,” said Kapoor.
The actor had not heard of the book before he was signed on the show. But once he got the role, Kapoor looked up Gupta online, watched his interviews, and tried to nail his mannerisms.
“By the time I met him briefly for dinner before the shoot, I knew more of him than he knew of me,” said Kapoor. The actor also worked with an accent coach to get his dialogue delivery right for the show set in the 80s.
It has brought him recognition—fans have approached him on flights and streets to talk about his performance. Kapoor is yet to sign his next project. But he said that he would love to play a character like Shah Rukh Khan did in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) while continuing his first love–theatre.
Everyone is a criminal
For Kapoor, it was the honesty with which the makers approached the subject that made the web series a unique project.
“We have a lot of shows about detectives and cops. But I don’t think an Indian show in this format on this topic has been made,” said Kapoor.
Gupta also shared insights about India’s prison system that he observed during his tenure at Tihar. He said the majority of prisoners are from the most economically backward classes, and delayed justice creates a black hole for them.
Gupta recalled how prisoners would often sing a song about how everyone is a criminal, but it is only those who get arrested who are labelled as thieves. While the song is not part of the show, the instances mentioned in the book about how criminals could lead very different lives inside prison, depending on which strata of the society they belong to, formed the crux of it.
Criminals such as Ranga-Billa, serial killer Charles Sobhraj, and other high-profile and unknown prisoners are part of the seven-episode series.
“I was very happy when the show came out because they made an effort to keep all details close to reality, including how the uniform looks,” Gupta said.
Also read: A Delhi doctor is the ‘Tihar specialist’. Extracts phones, drugs & blades from inmates’ bodies
A new perspective
The book started when Gupta reached out to Choudhury. The journalist was fascinated by the many stories he had to share.
“We have prison narratives, and diaries by prisoners but what we usually don’t have is the version of the incarcerators, and when Gupta agreed to speak to us, we got a chance to understand that side too,” said Choudhury.
A lawyer in the audience commended Gupta for starting legal aid for prisoners. Gupta responded that often keeping those who commit petty thefts in jail ends up costing the government more than the amount of money or goods they are accused of stealing.
“Even after so many years of the publication of the book, no one has raised objections about anything in it,” said Gupta.
When Kapoor asked how his old colleagues reacted, Gupta smiled and said, “They were jealous.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)