EXCLUSIVE! Vikramaditya Motwane on Netflix's Black Warrant: ‘Casting for Charles Sobhraj was a bit of a concern’ | Not Just Bollywood

Netflix’s Black Warrant, a seven-episode series created by Vikramaditya Motwane and Satyanshu Singh is not a one-time watch and definitely not for binge watching. It’s an impactful prison series that will make you think.

In an interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Motwane talks about his show on Netflix, why it was made into a series and how much of cinematic liberty was taken from Sunetra Choudhury’s book.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How much of cinematic liberties was taken in Black Warrant as compared to the book?

It’s a 200-page book that spans over 35 years. We have made it into a season that spans four years. We have taken incidents and time spans from the book. We had to create our own characters and their arcs. You have to start building more characters into it.

What was it that played in your mind when it came to the casting of the show especially Charles Sobhraj ?

Charles Sobhraj was all Mukesh Chhabra’s ideas. Because we all were thinking who was going to play this guy. This was such a specific piece of casting that it was a bit of a concern. Mukesh then had an idea about casting Sidhant Gupta from Jubilee which was a fantastic idea because I know how much work he does. He got into the skin of the character. He did his research. He did his homework.

What about Sunil Gupta, the main character?

It was Zahan’s audition. He kind of embodied what we had imagined. There’s a real Sunil Gupta who exists, but you do not want to be a replica of somebody. We thought that Zahan’s audition was terrific. He had those eyes and that confidence and also the nervousness. He got that combination really well in his audition.

What was the most gripping part about the content that made you say this is a show I want to do?

Honestly, I read the book and I wanted to do something about it. It’s about a piece of history about a time when I grew up personally, through the 80s and going forward. It’s kind of a milestone in crime history if I can put it that way. That was very interesting. That mixed with the fact that you have the most unlikely protagonists. When I sent the book to Satyanshu (Co-director) and he read it, he agreed thankfully and we made the show.

Did Satyanshu and you ever have any difference of opinions while making it?

 The only difference of opinion we ever had was that I felt that the whole book should be done in one season and he wanted to slow it down and make it into a series.

What were the challenges you faced while putting it on paper and then on the screen? What were the responsibilities that went behind?

When you write with integrity and honesty, the audiences see it. This is all a part of history. We never wanted to hurt anybody’s sentiments. These are recorded cases. Our research was so good; we are not trying to sensationalize or piss anyone off.

WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Black Warrant here: