Is Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumarans Daayra Based on a True Story? Hereâs What We Know

Meghna Gulzar is known for making gripping films rooted in real-life events and figures, from Talvar and Raazi to Sam Bahadur. She will now return with another crime thriller, Daayra, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran, among others.

Given Gulzar’s history with such stories, there was naturally curiosity about whether Daayra, too, was based on a specific real-life case. The trailer introduces Kareena as DCP Ajooni Kohli and Prithviraj as DCP Raman Kumar, two police officers who find themselves on opposing sides of a crime and have very different approaches to justice. It touches upon disturbing issues including the kidnapping of young women, rape, juvenile crime and police encounters.

The film was initially reported to be inspired by the 2019 Hyderabad rape and murder case of a veterinarian and the controversial police encounter that followed. However, at the trailer launch on August 31, Gulzar clarified that Daayra is not based on one particular incident. Instead, the filmmaker revealed that the story draws from several true events from across India. She also stressed that the film is not confined to a particular city or state, but explores a reality that can happen almost everywhere and anywhere in the country.

The 2019 Hyderabad case, which had initially led to speculation around Daayra, involved the rape and murder of a 27-year-old veterinarian near Hyderabad on November 27, 2019. Four men were arrested two days later. On December 6, the Telangana Police said the four had been killed in an encounter at Chattapally while being taken to the area to reconstruct the crime. Police claimed the accused had attacked the officers and attempted to escape. The incident sparked a nationwide debate over encounter killings and whether the accused should have been brought to trial.

While the similarities between the real-life case and elements visible in Daayra’s trailer may explain the initial reports linking the two, the makers have not confirmed that the film is based on the Hyderabad incident. Instead, Gulzar’s clarification establishes that the film draws from multiple cases and incidents from across the country.