'Bambai Meri Jaan' director says show is not based on Dawood Ibrahim

'Bambai Meri Jaan' was released on Prime Video on September 14, 2023. Its cast includes Kay Kay Menon and Kritika Kamra, along with Avinash Tiwary essaying the lead role. Directed by Shujaat Saudagar, the web series includes ten episodes. S Hussain Zaidi, who is also the author of 'Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia', has worked on the script of the show as well.

For the uninitiated, the book talks about the lives of Mumbai gangsters such as Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Chhota Rajan, Abu Salem, and their rise as criminals. The book primarily talks about Dawood Ibrahim. Hence, there were reports that 'Bambai Meri Jaan' is a show based on Dawood Ibrahim. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, director Shujaat reacted to the reports. He also talked about the filming process.

Excerpts from the conversation:

'Bambai Meri Jaan' is about the underbelly of the 70s world of Bombay and the criminal laws. What was the whole inspiration behind the show? Talk to us about the process of research.

The research, of course, was tremendous. The inspiration came from Hussain Zaidi, whose story it is. He has been a crime reporter for almost three decades now and he himself has done a lot of research on this subject. There are numerous books that he has published. So, he came up with this story out of all the experiences that he had during his days of reporting, which was the seed of the story. In terms of preparation to transport the viewers to a different world so as to give them an immersive experience, there was a lot of hard work put in by the production designers, the costume department, etc. My DOP (director of photography) did a terrific job on sets in terms of lighting, etc. An immense amount of detailing went into creating that world because we wanted to try and be as authentic as possible since we were showing the past. It was fun and great creating that era of the 60s, 70s and 80s. As we progressed, we had to keep on updating the time period of that era.

Due to the similarities in the stories, there are many reports suggesting that your show is based on Dawood Ibrahim...

Not at all. It's not based on Dawood Ibrahim. I think it has been triggered by the fact that Hussain Zaidi is the story ideator of 'Bambai Meri Jaan'. I think that it's very natural. He is a person with a legacy of such best-selling books and such a credible reporter. So, it is obvious that people will try and put two and two together. But once people watch the show, they will realise that it has nothing to do with Dawood Ibrahim. But, I can understand where the reference is coming from. This is a brand new story and it's a brand new show. I think people should watch it like that and judge it like that.

How did the cast of 'Bambai Meri Jaan' happen? What was the whole casting process?

It was quite a long process because the series went on for a long time. The pre-production time was so long. It took us one and a half years, almost two years of pre-production we did while the writing itself was coming together. Of course, KK (Kay Kay Menon) was a no-brainer. I sent the script out to him. I've been trying to work with KK for almost 20 years now but things never materialised. But I thought that if there was anyone who could do justice to the role, it was him. I needed somebody who had a certain personality. You need to see the character in one shot and understand who he is.

Avinash Tiwary really did something in his screen test which, to date, I still can't put my finger on. My guts said that he was the man. Of course, I tried to work with a lot of actors in the meantime, but something about him kept drawing me back to him. Kritika Kamra was the last one to join the cast, but the kind of catching up she did was great. I can say confidently on her behalf that she felt very welcome and really warm and a part of the entire family. I think she has done a phenomenal job.

'Bambai Meri Jaan' is currently streaming on Prime Video.