UPite to shoot a series on dreaded Thokia gang!

Filmmaker Irshad Khan will be making a series on the dreaded Thokia gang. The Bumper Draw (2016) writer-director will be shooting the project in his hometown Banda, in the Chitrakoot ravines and Lucknow.

On his recent visit to the state capital, he says, “Ambika Patel earned the name Thokia for his killings and had even ambushed Special Task Force men before he was finally encountered in 2008. I will be narrating the story to Babil as he will gel with the role best like his father and my friend Irfaan in Paan Singh Tomar (2013). I had written it during lockdown.”

Khan has also produced the film Jaakho Rakhe Saaiyan that was shot in Meerut. “It was the Uttar Pradesh government’s subsidy that drew me here and we have shot the entire film here with Arjun Rampal, Tigmanshu Dhulia and has been directed by Rajiv S Ruia. The film is in post-production and some patchwork is left to complete the film. We may go for a web release also. For low budget films, subsidy is the motivation and it’s a blessing that the government has included web projects also,” he said.

The filmmaker is now geared up for his film Non Stop Dhamaal with Annu Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani. “We started the shoot on January 21, but Annuji fell ill a week later (heart ailment). All dates went haywire as we had a huge star cast, but we were able to wrap up the shoot in May before he came to Lucknow for his next film. It’s on the film industry struggle and life in the hub – Aaramnagar (Mumbai). Now, we are looking for a favourable date to release as it’s a big challenge to get theatres amidst big releases,” he says.

On his journey, Khan says, “My father settled in Mumbai, so I grew up here. I started as an actor in 1992 doing theatre with actor Kadar Khan and his associates. I did a lot of projects, but nothing was materialising. I did a music video, but it could not be released. I started a film Imaandari… with Hiten Tejwani but it got shelved, I tried starting Kamathipura with KK Menon, Konkona Sen Sharma and others but it remained a non-starter. Bumper Draw released alongside 16 films hitting screens and could not work. Since then, I’m working on the film that I have produced and directed. Thirty years on the struggle continues but passion remains the same.”