Adarsh Gourav, the BAFTA-nominated star of “The White Tiger” and “Alien: Earth” is set to headline “Gangster on the Run,” a feature adaptation of Puja Changoiwala’s nonfiction book that charts the remarkable transformation of a Mumbai gangster into a marathon-running social worker.
Prosit Roy, who won the Filmfare Award for best director (series) for Prime Video’s “Paatal Lok,” will direct from a screenplay by frequent collaborator Abhishek Banerjee, whose credits include “Pari,” “Paatal Lok” Season 2 and the upcoming Indian cricketer Jhulan Goswami biopic.
The project, which was unveiled at the WAVES Film Bazaar, the market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, is being developed as a prestige global true-crime drama, with producers actively seeking an international co-production partner. Lead producer Sidharth Jain will meet potential collaborators at Content London in early December.
Gourav will portray Rahul Jadhav, once one of Mumbai’s most feared sharpshooters whose journey through violence, addiction and the criminal underworld gave way to an unlikely path of self-reflection and rehabilitation. Today, Jadhav works as a marathon runner and social worker, helping at-risk youth avoid the violent trajectory he once followed.
“Rahul is one of the most layered, demanding characters I’ve encountered — someone shaped by violence yet capable of profound transformation,” Gourav said. “It’s the kind of role that forces you to dig deep as an actor, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with Prosit on a story this raw and universal.”
Roy added: “Rahul’s story has the emotional power, complexity and cinematic tension that translates anywhere in the world. It’s a gritty, human tale that blends redemption, identity and consequence.”
The film is produced by Jain, Kanchan Marathe and Rohit Vedprakash, with partial financing from Filmoney Ink, a soon-to-launch Dubai-based fund focused on theatrical Indian genre films and international projects designed for global audiences.
Jain, founder of The Story Ink, has overseen more than 250 book-to-screen deals and produced Netflix’s award-winning series “Trial by Fire.” Marathe, a former Netflix and Viacom18 creative executive, has been involved with acclaimed titles including “Andhadhun,” “Jamtara” and “Scoop.” Vedprakash, formerly director of original content at Netflix India, has credits including “Mismatched,” “Khakee,” “The Fame Game” and “Kohhra.”
“With Prosit and Adarsh coming together, the film has both artistic muscle and international reach,” Jain said. “And with early financing from Filmoney Ink, we’re positioned strongly as we take the project to the global market.”
Marathe emphasized the adaptation’s global crime-thriller sensibility, calling it “a powerful, character-led narrative — the kind that resonates far beyond its geography.”
Vedprakash added that the director-actor pairing and source material position the film “to travel — creatively, commercially and culturally.”
Filmoney Ink is a U.A.E.-based fund and IP management company backed by ultra-high-net-worth non-resident Indians across the UAE and U.K. The fund invests in Indian genre and horror films alongside select international titles, leveraging subsidy-driven cost efficiencies and IP ownership as part of its investment strategy.