Amazon Prime Video series Bambai Meri Jaan has been garnering ample attention owing to it exploring yet again the gritty world of Mumbai’s infamous underworld. Starring Kay Kay Menon, his wife Nivedita Bhattacharya, Avinash Tiwary, Kritika Kamra in lead roles, there have been rumours that the film is inspired by the famous gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Reacting to these, Shujaat Saudagar revealed to Bollywood Hungama that the show was written by the famous writer Hussain Zaidi and that it is based on his extensive reporting over decades.
In this exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Shujaat Saudagar revealed that because of the kind of genre explored by Hussain Zaidi, people are drawing parallels to the infamous gangsters of the city, including Dawood Ibrahim. Asserting that Bambai Meri Jaan has an original and fictional story, Shujaat said, “The seed of this, of course, came from Hussain Zaidi Saab. It is his story. He came with the story to us. And it was based on his extensive reporting over the last three decades, right. Of course, I think a large bunch of people are drawing parallels because of the books that he has written and that is bound to happen. After all, he’s got such a massive repertoire. But the story is original and it’s also a fictional story.”
He even went on to assert that the show goes beyond the book too it is inspired from. He explained, “The one (book) it is inferred on, it goes way beyond that, because his career has spanned for so long. And all that is in the past. This is a new story. The world is, of course, the same. The crime world is the same, and you will find commonalities in certain areas, because the grasp of it has been the same. If you’re talking about say Indian politics, or Indian sport or cricket, it’s very difficult to eliminate certain characters or moments in history, because that is what the universe and the world is made up of. But having said that, this is a complete fiction story which is brought to life by the entire writing team, Rensil (D’Silva) and writers and then of course translation from paper to film eventually. I think what people can expect is a really powerful epic saga of a city and it’s a love story. It’s an ode to Bombay.”
Bambai Meri Jaan revolves around the story of an honest police officer and his clashing ideologies with his power-hungry son. With Kay Kay Menon as the father, Avinash Tiwary plays his son Dara and Kritika Kamra plays his daughter Habiba. The first episode premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 14.
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