Daayra director Meghna Gulzar says Irrfan Khan's performance convinced audience in Talvar

Meghna Gulzar and Irrfan. Pics/Yogen Shah, AFP

Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film ‘Daayra' starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kareena Kapoor Khan, has credited the late actor Irrfan's powerful performance in 'Talvar' for convincing audience that Aarushi Talwar's parents weren't at fault.

The filmmaker spoke with IANS during the promotions of ‘Daayra' in the Andheri West area of Mumbai. She said that Irrfan's portrayal of Ashwin Kumar, Joint-Director of CBI in ‘Talvar' strongly worked in the favour of the audience empathising with the parents of Aarushi Talwar.

The film was based on the 2008 Noida double murder case, the unsolved murders of 13-year-old girl Aarushi Talwar and her house help, Hemraj. The two were killed on the night of 15-16 May 2008 at Aarushi's home in Noida, India. When Aarushi's body was discovered in her bedroom on May 16, Hemraj was missing at the time, and was considered the main suspect. The next day, Hemraj's partially decomposed body was discovered on the terrace.

Meghna said that the film is purely based on facts, and presents the events as is without taking sides.

She told IANS, "Irrfan sir's performance has convinced you. But the facts are the facts and the facts are what have been depicted in the film. So, the facts look like they are veering more in favour of the parents, that was the reality. It's just that Irrfan sir as an actor and a performer convinced you a little more. But he convinced you with what? With the facts that he had".

"And the facts were as they were in life, which is why the ‘Talvar' family then got exonerated in the high court. ‘Talvar' didn't create that fiction", she added.

After ruling out former domestic servants of the family, Aarushi's parents, Dr. Rajesh Talwar and Dr. Nupur Talwar were treated as the prime suspects by the police. The police suspected that Rajesh had murdered the victims after finding them in an "objectionable" position, or because Rajesh's alleged extra-marital affair had led to his blackmail by Hemraj and a confrontation with Aarushi. The Talwars' family and friends accused the police of framing them in order to cover up the botched-up investigation.

The couple was acquitted of all charges by the Allahabad High Court in 2017. On March 8, 2018, the CBI challenged the acquittal in the Supreme Court.

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