At the Daayra trailer launch, director Meghna Gulzar clarified whether her new thriller starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj stems from the 2019 Hyderabad case.
Meghna Gulzar’s upcoming crime thriller Daayra, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran, has set off major buzz among movie buffs across India. Dealing with complex themes of crime and the flaws within the legal system, the movie sparked massive rumors about whether its plot directly dramatizes the horrific 2019 Hyderabad vet case.
At the film’s trailer launch in Mumbai, director Meghna Gulzar cleared the air about the story while giving fans a closer look at the powerful characters brought to life by her lead actors.
The initial rumors grew out of a tragic real-life event in November 2019, when a 26-year-old veterinary doctor was brutally gang-raped and murdered near a toll plaza in Hyderabad. The incident ended with the four suspects being shot dead by police during a public encounter, triggering nationwide debates around women’s safety, legal delays, and extra-judicial police actions. Because Daayra explores these exact systemic issues, many assumed the film was an explicit retelling of this specific case.
However, the Raazi filmmaker explained that Daayra does not restrict itself to just one incident. She shared that relying solely on facts from a single case would have limited the scope of what her team wanted to address, as these issues occur with alarming frequency across the entire country. Instead, the creative team spent extensive time studying multiple real-world cases from across India, identifying common emotional and legal patterns to construct a much wider, more urgent narrative.
This multi-case approach comes to life through the intense dynamic between the two lead characters.
In Daayra, Prithviraj Sukumaran plays DCP Raman Kumar, a police officer driven to extreme measures following a heinous crime involving young perpetrators. On the other hand, Prithviraj essays the role of DCP Ajooni Kohli, a steadfast senior officer brought in to investigate Raman’s actions and probe his history of working outside legal boundaries.
Daayra is slated to hit the theatrical screens on September 18, 2026.
