In The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, Nagesh Kukunoor, who has always been at ease with real-world narrative, explores a very contentious subject in Indian politics. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, the filmmaker talks about how quickly the Applause Entertainment-backed series evolved, how the actors were cast to look like real people, and how the mystery surrounding Sivarasan was framed for the film.

Based on Anirudhya Mitra's novel 90 Days

The play's plot is taken from Anirudhya Mitra's 2022 book 90 Days, which examines the investigation that the CBI conducted in the wake of the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Kukunoor claims that the wheels were turning long before the book was released.

"Therefore, Anirudhya Mitra had already contacted Sameer Nair at Applause and presented this entire concept along with all of his research and whatnot. Therefore, as Kukunoor stated, "Sameer had actually suggested that he write a book so then we could get everything down in one place and use that as the source material."

While the project was still ongoing, he was approached. The director continued, "Sameer had multiple chats with Anirudhya, was familiar with the source material, and persuaded me." Additionally, the fact that the novel only covers the 90 days is what makes it so beautiful. It's merely a police procedure. It's a thriller without any political baggage. You're not taking sides. You're telling the events as they happen. That's what drew me into the entire stuff, then.

The story's straightforward, procedural framework made it simple for it to move from the page to the screen. "The minute, literally the moment, the book came out, it was handed to me, and off we went," Kukunoor said. We filmed it in 2023, the year after we modified it.

creating the mystery of Sivarasan

The LTTE agent Sivarasan, who was able to evade arrest for about three months, was the most difficult character to play. For Kukunoor, it was a chance to create a character that didn't make too many blatant assertions. "See all that was there about Sivarasan; I mean, the guy managed to avoid the biggest manhunt in the nation for 90 days," he stated. That was no simple accomplishment.

He incorporated his past actions into his on-screen persona. The filmmaker said, "He was only motivated by his goal, and many of his prior actions were similarly motivated, such as when he killed Tamilian leaders, one of the leaders, on Indian soil; it was quite daring. People like that occasionally show up.

Karthikeyan's composed accuracy as the main investigator was contrasted with Sivarasan's erratic conduct by Kukunoor. He said, "You know how, when you have someone like a Karthikeyan, who is completely in command and never, ever loses his cool, leading this SIT and a complete adversary on the other side." It was wonderful to be able to manage these two individuals alone.

But what he remembered most vividly was, "All that one heard and stuff that was written about Sivarasan was the fact that he was just this normal-looking guy who blended into any place he was in." He is practically always in plain view.

A key factor was visual similarity

When choosing significant real-life figures like Karthikeyan and Amit Verma, Kukunoor said, looks were the most important factor. "So a couple of things," he stated. One is that our performers had to resemble the characters. As a result, my options were limited. Jaideep Ahlawat, who I adore, was unable to portray Karthikeyan. That's all there is to it."

The decision to cast Amit Sial as Karthikeyan was the correct one. “Amit Sial comes up; he looks very close to Karthikeyan,” Kukunoor shared. Additionally, individuals who are acquainted with Karthikeyan, and I'm certain Karthikeyan himself, would state, "Oh, he doesn't look like me." However, you know, as visually near to the actual individual as you can get.

On the other hand, Amit Verma's role was cast to Sahil Vaid by chance. Sahil had gained a lot of weight for a previous film he made, Kukunoor said. As a result, the girth was consistent with when he auditioned for me. I then read with Sahil, who hails from Salem, Tamil Nadu, according to him. We were talking as if we were in the twilight zone. It was really odd. The best part about Sahil's casting was that by chance, something occurred that made it impossible for any Tamilian to say that he spoke Tamil incorrectly.

Particularly to those associated with the LTTE, some characters needed some creative license. The filmmaker disclosed, "We ended up employing Malayali actors with many of the LTTE performers because they visually resembled the characters they were portraying." However, it wasn't always possible to locate Tamilians.

Striking a balance between artistic freedom and authenticity

However, Kukunoor valued realistic appearance and dialect authenticity above all else. The filmmaker finished by saying, "We had to take liberties with the characters, but at least the major ones were sort of the ones on whom the show was hanging on, and I tried to be as authentic as possible. As long as they landed in the right location visually, I wasn't worried about whether they understood the statement or not. That was the initial action. And secondly, how proficient are they at speaking the dialect?

The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case is now available to view on Sony LIV (OTTPlay Premium).

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