Real life criminals who inspired Bollywood cinema time and again
What's the story
Often filmmakers take inspirations from colorful personalities in real life to weave magic on the silver screen. It is not necessary that every time this inspiration has to be famous. Infamous people have equally interesting stories that need to be told. In India, several films have been made based on the exploits of its criminals. Are they all real? You be the judge. Here's more.
Natwarlal
The baap of all Indian con artists
Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava, from Bihar, is a legend in its own right. You probably know him by his alias, Mr. Natwarlal. His exploits, which included selling the Taj Mahal, earned him 113 years of jail sentence. However, he was not too fond of bars and managed to escape every time. Amitabh Bachchan's 1979 movie, Mr. Natwarlal was heavily inspired by this legendary con artist.
Gauhar Bano
India's first woman dacoit
When she was Gauhar Bano, an ordinary nautch girl, nobody took much notice of her. But this very ordinary girl would one day become India's first woman dacoit and have the Chambal ravines quaking under her footsteps. Her notoriety led to a box-office hit with Jaya Mala taking on Putlibai's fierce demeanor and ruthlessness. Cinemas are larger than life and so are some people.
Veerapan
The terror in the south
Ramgopal Verma was a master story-teller once. His movies' criminals were terrifying, grandiose and downright interesting. So when he took it upon himself to tell the story of Veerappan, expectations ran high. The sandalwood smuggler, who dominated the South Indian jungles for nearly 30 years, must have had a very interesting life. However, Verma disappointed both the times he made a movie on Veerappan.
Dilli
A turbulent Dilli affair
The film Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was directed by Dibakar Banerjee and had Abhay Deol playing the role of Devinder Singh aka Bunty "Super Chor." The film shows how Devinder Singh carried out a series of thefts in several cities and eluded cops, who were trying to nab him. Do watch this movie, if you haven't already. Bunty's life makes for a superb story.
Raman Raghav
A story told in blood
Anurag Kashyap's Raman Raghav 2.0 would send chills down your backbone. Nawazuddin portrays the role of Ramanna, a serial killer, heavily inspired by a 1960s serial killer, who preyed on pavement and slum dwellers in Mumbai. Raman Raghav had confessed to killing 41 people. His weapon of choice was broken axle of a motor truck, which he had modified to get a good grip.
Charles
The killer with a charming smile
Charles Sobhraj was someone who came across as a very charming, suave gentleman. He was pleasant to look at and could speak fluently in several languages. He preyed on foreign tourists in India, Nepal along the "Asian Hippie Trail.' Charles, known as the Bikini Killer, is now serving a life sentence in Nepal. In 2015, Randeep Hooda played him in the movie "Main Aur Charles."
Phoolan Devi
A story well told
Phoolan Devi! The name could make anyone in Chambal cower in fear during her heydays. She surrendered in 1983 and was in prison until 1994. She was elected as an MP twice until her past came calling in 2001. She was gunned down by assailants outside her Delhi bungalow for revenge. Shekhar Kapur told her story with compassion in the 1996 movie, Bandit Queen.
Temporary
The timeline is brewing!
The timeline is brewing!