Bipasha Basu makes comeback with Hansal Mehta’s Barabanki, begins shoot in Mumbai

Bipasha Basu

Just because she has been missing from the screen doesn't mean Bipasha Basu has been lying low. Nearly six years after her OTT debut with the thriller Dangerous (2020), the actor is back to work, and this time with a crime thriller helmed by Hansal Mehta. Sources inform that Basu began shooting for Mehta's next, titled Barabanki, in Mumbai last month.

Adapted from The Barabanki Narcos: Busting India's Most Notorious Drug Cartel, written by retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Aloke Lal, the crime thriller is set in 1984. It tells the inspiring story of how Lal led a massive opium raid operation in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district.

Vishal Jethwa and Sunny Kaushal

"The series is a gripping, real-life, first-hand account of the dismantling of powerful drug cartels by an IPS officer and his team," informs a trade source about the series, which is co-produced by Prabhleen Kaur, known for Made in India: The Titan Story. The series also features Sunny Kaushal and Homebound star Vishal Jethwa.

While it is still unclear who plays which role, we hear the makers will also shine a light on those who assisted Lal - including his trusted staff and a network of informers, like former addicts and small-time peddlers - in his fight against the drug cartels.

Hansal Mehta and Aloke Lal

Basu, who is returning to the screen after having her baby Devi in 2020, "has a powerful role". "Bipasha has a strong connection to the protagonist. And she hasn't worked with Hansal before," shares the source, adding that the actor immediately gave her nod when Mehta approached her with the story, as he has been on her wish list. "Bipasha has a certain look in the film which is different from the ones she previously sported in her movies." And that's all they will say.

Who is Aloke Lal?

Aloke Lal served for 37 years in public service and retired as a Director General of Police (DGP). Besides dismantling the Barabanki Narcotics Cartel, he led field operations against organised armed bandits operating in the rural belts of Shahjahanpur. He was responsible for overseeing counter-militancy operations in Uttarakhand. He detailed eight major investigations of burglary in his co-authored book, ‘On the Trail of Thugs and Thieves'.

Bipasha Basu's last feature film was ‘Alone' (2015)