Film to be made on Mumbai ex-scribe’s jail ordeal

Mumbai: A book on jail horrors, penned by former Mumbai journalist Jigna Vora – who was acquitted two month ago in the sensational murder case of a senior scribe, Jyotirmoy Dey – will be made into a film soon, according to an announcement here on Tuesday.

Vora’s book, “Behind Bars In Byculla” launched recently, is based on her own heart-wrenching ordeal in prison for several years as an accused under-trial in the case.

A journalist with The Asian Age, she was the sole woman accused in the stunning killing of Dey on June 11, 2011, near his home in suburban Powai and was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in Aug. 2019 after “the prosecution failed to prove her involvement”.

The other accused included the dreaded mafia don Rajendra S. Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.

Co-publisher of “Behind Bars In Byculla”, S. Hussain Zaidi told IANS that Matchbox Pictures have acquired the film rights of the book and he would be involved with the creative development of the script.

He said the book is a hard-hitting saga based on the true accounts of female prisoners who Vora had encountered during her time spent behind bars.

“It is our privilege to have Sriram Raghavan help us identify good content. We feel these incredible true life stories in ‘Behind Bars In Byculla’ need to be told on a wider medium,” said Matchbox Pictures’ Sanjay Routray on the project.

The company will collaborate with Jaspinder Singh Kang on the project

Raghavan, who had launched Vora’s book said he was curious about the stories in it because it was a crime reporter’s point-of-view about life in a prison.

“Parts of it reminded me of ‘Ek Hasina Thi’… The book discusses Vora’s career as a journalist, how she got mired in the case, her time in jail and her eventual acquittal,” Raghavan said.

Recalling her nightmare, Vora termed it as her “journey to Hell and back” and said she couldn’t have trusted anyone more than Matchbox Pictures to stay true to her story.

“We aim to present unique and path-breaking stories on screen as never before and to that effect, our partnership with Matchbox Pictures is synergistic,” Zaidi said.

Incidentally, Matchbox Pictures’ previous film, “Andhadhun” directed by Raghavan, released in Oct. 2018, garnered both critical and commercial successes in India and abroad.-IANS News