Based on Vikas Swarup novel, ‘The Great Indian Murder’ set for OTT release

Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) The makers of the upcoming web series ‘The Great Indian Murder’ released a motion poster on Monday that presents the characters in quick succession as patches of their faces make appearances on the frame.

The murder mystery, adapted from Vikas Swarup’s book ‘Six Suspects’ and based in part on the Jessica Lall murder case that rocked the country in the late 1990s, is being directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, who is known for helming films such as ‘Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster’, ‘Haasil’ and ‘Paan Singh Tomar’.

Vikas Swarup, incidentally, is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer on whose book ‘Q&A’, Danny Boyle based his Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. His last assignment was as Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The show’s opening murder borrows from the Jessica Lal case. The antagonist, Vicky Rai, playboy son of the Home Minister of Uttar Pradesh, kills a bartender named Ruby Gill at a trendy restaurant in New Delhi, after she refuses to pour him a drink.

Seven years later, the trajectory of the case changes as Vicky gets murdered at a party thrown by him to celebrate his acquittal. The police zero down on six suspects, each of whom is found in possession of guns.

The ‘Six Suspects’ are a corrupt bureaucrat who claims to have become Mahatma Gandhi; an American tourist smitten by an Indian actress; a member of an ancient tribe, who is out to recover a sacred stone; a ‘bold’ Bollywood actress with a guilty secret; a mobile-phone thief with big dreams; and an ambitious politician willing to go to any length to advance his career. The lives and motives of the six suspects form the crux of this gripping series.

The trailer of the series is set to be released on Tuesday, January 18. Starring Richa Chadha, Pratik Gandhi, Ashutosh Rana, Shashank Arora, Raghubir Yadav, Paoli Dam and Jatin Goswami, ‘The Great Indian Murder’ will be streaming on Disney+ Hotstar soon.

–IANS

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