‘Daayra’ Inspired by 2019 Hyderabad Rape-Murder
The upcoming Kareena Kapoor-starrer is Meghna Gulzar’s intense look at the chilling incident through the prism of fiction
Kareena Kapoor Khan’s upcoming movie Daayra is a fictionalised retelling of the 2019 Hyderabad rape-murder case and the controversial police encounter that followed.
The investigative crime thriller allows the director Meghna Gulzar more creative freedom because of the fictionalized setting, compared to her previous true-crime works like Talvar.
Kareena Kapoor Khan plays Special Investigator Ajooni Kohli and Prithviraj Sukumaran encounter specialist Raman Kumar, marking their first on-screen collaboration.
The film, opening in September, will explore the intense themes of crime, justice, punishment, and how a diabolical act creates polarizing reactions in society.
Renowned lyricist Gulzar revealed that Daayra will be a song-less flick, as his daughter Meghna felt the gritty script didn’t allow for musical tracks.
To ensure absolute realism, the production auditioned over 90 theatre actors across India, including alumni of the National School of Drama and FTII (Film & Television Institute of India). Even characters with a single scene or a one-line dialogue underwent rigorous screen tests.
THE HYDERABAD CASE
On November 27, 2019, a 26-year-old veterinary doctor was allegedly gang-raped and murdered near Shadnagar, with her body later set on fire. Nine days later, four accused — Mohammed Arif, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chennakeshavulu — were shot dead by police at Chatanpally during a crime-scene reconstruction.
All four accused were shot dead after allegedly snatching police weapons and attempting to escape, prompting officers to open fire in self-defence.