New Delhi: The stories of Tihar Jail are set to come to life on screens, in the form of a series by filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane. The publishers of the book announced Friday that the rights of the award-winning book ‘Black Warrant’ have been acquired by Motwane’s Andolan Films and journalist Josy Joseph’s Confluence Media.
‘Black Warrant’ is the memoir of Tihar Jail’s longest-serving superintendent Sunil Gupta and has been co-written by journalist Sunetra Choudhury. The book was published by Roli Books in November 2019.
“After an intense bidding war, the film/scripted series rights have been jointly acquired by Andolan films – the production company run by director Vikramaditya Motwane and Josy Joseph’s Confluence Media” the publisher announced on Twitter.
We are delighted to announce that the series rights of our bestselling book Black Warrant by Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury have been jointly aquired by Andolan Films and Confluence Media. pic.twitter.com/nwo9ANSyxg
— Roli Books (@RoliBooks) June 5, 2020
“Having commissioned the book, we’re excited to see Black Warrant reach millions through a new platform. The book is in fantastic hands with Confluence and Andolan and we can’t wait to see the book come alive on the big screen,” it added.
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An intimate account of India’s criminal justice system
The book is an intimate account of India’s judicial and criminal justice system and looks back at the stints of various noted criminals — such as Charles Sobhraj, Afzal Guru, Ranga-Billa and the 16 December gangrape convicts.
Motwane, who has also directed films like Udaan and Lootera, said that he was delighted to collaborate on adapting the book into a series. “‘Black Warrant’ is sensational, dramatic, and riveting, and a terrific peek into the people and workings of India”s largest jail,” he said in a statement.
The details about the streaming platform are yet to be announced.
Motwane’s Andolan films are behind Netflix’s popular series Sacred Games, which was also India’s first original series on the streaming platform.
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