Anurag Basu to direct biopic on Indian spy Ravindra Kaushik

Anurag Basu.
| Photo Credit: Kerry Monteen

Filmmaker Anurag Basu on Thursday announced his next directorial venture The Black Tiger, a biopic on Indian spy Ravindra Kaushik.

Known for films such as Life in a… Metro, Gangster, Barfi!, and Ludo, the director said stories of unsung heroes like Kaushik’s must be shared with people.

“Ravindra Kaushik’s story is that of courage and valour. At the young age of 20 years, he played a pivotal role in many national and international security matters of the ’70s and ’80s that went on to define India’s as well as South Asia’s geopolitical character. So much of our history is either hidden or forgotten. We ought to recognise and learn about this unsung hero,” Basu said in a statement.

According to the press release, Kaushik was 20 when he first went undercover for Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency. He is regarded as India’s best spy thus far for his success in penetrating the highest ranks of the Pakistani Army, thereby receiving the moniker ‘The Black Tiger’ from Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India.

Kaushik’s intuitive and timely reporting of critical information ensured that Indian Security Forces, between 1974 to 1983, were constantly steps ahead of any move Pakistan was planning to make, stated the release.

His family members have given their consent to the biopic and are lending support to the makers by sharing the information in addition to the story from their lens, the makers further stated.

The Black Tiger is produced by Basu, R. Vivek, Asvin Srivatsangam and Divay Dhamija.

In 2021, superstar Salman Khan told PTI in an interview that his sister Alvira Khan Agnihotri and brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri are producing the biopic on Kaushik. Earlier, director Raj Kumar Gupta of Raid fame in 2019 said he is set to bring the life story of Kaushik to the big screen.