NE FEATURES TEAM
Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani 2 has struck a chord with audiences with its brilliant spine-chilling trailer that sees Rani in a chase against time to capture a brutal serial rapist. The trailer has wowed everyone for its raw, gritty and edgy portrayal of how India is seeing a rise in violent crimes by juveniles and sparked a conversation of this grim reality.
When contacted, Gopi Puthran, writer-director of Mardaani 2, says, “Ideas for films like Mardaani 2 tend to come from some real life inspirations because the horrific nature of crimes that you read about in papers, do shock you and stay with you. My film is inspired from various such incidents that happened across the country. Mardaani 2 focusses on such crimes committed by juveniles, how they are on the rise across the nation and we need to pay heed to this. The fact that underage boys are committing such violence makes the crimes deadlier and more menacing because how do you recognise them when they could be walking, talking or sitting next to you and your family. Mardaani 2 highlights this social issue.”
Rani is reprising the role of the fearless and committed Superintendent of Police, Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 2. She had delivered a knock-out performance in the super-hit and hugely acclaimed prequel, Mardaani, in which she took on the kingpin of a child trafficking racket. Audiences are expecting no less from Rani especially after the superb trailer of the film in which she is seen taking on a villain who systematically targets women.
In Mardaani 2, Rani has been pitted against a very young yet dangerous villain who can be called pure evil. There is a lot of debate about what real life incident inspired the storyline of Mardaani 2 and we seem to have found an answer.
“Two years back, a violent crime rocked the nation. It happened on the Yamuna Expressway where four women were raped. The modus operandi of the criminal was simple. Use a vehicle to carry out these crimes. If you see Mardaani 2 trailer, the villain clearly uses a car to pick up unsuspecting women and then carries out his plan. The incidents on the Yamuna Expressway were brutal. The accused snatched a car and then looted and raped women.
When arrested, the young criminals were seen with no remorse resulting in cops to suspect that all similar incidents could have been conducted by them. This incident and the nature of the cold-blooded, non-repenting criminals was the inspiration behind Mardaani 2,” says a source close to the project.
Produced by Aditya Chopra, Mardaani 2 will be Rani’s next release after the global blockbuster Hichki that delivered Rs 250 crore worldwide. Mardaani 2 is set to hit theatres on 13th December.
