John Abraham to play DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav in film on Batla House encounter

Bollywood actor John Abraham is likely to play DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, the senior policeman who led the 2008 Batla House encounter case, in director Nikkhil Advani’s upcoming film. The film is set to go on floors in September this year and will be shot in Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nepal and Mumbai.

A Pune Mirror report claimed Nikkhil has roped in John Abraham for the film based on the encounter case . The tabloid quoted the director as saying, “Sanjeev Kumar Yadav wanted a physically and mentally strong actor and John fits the bill. With a little light on him and a flash of those dimples, John stands out in a crowd. The biggest challenge will be to make him blend in.” Saif Ali Khan was earlier rumoured to be playing the role.

Yadav has won eight President Gallantry Awards, including one for this operation.

John, too, confirmed the news and told the tabloid, “We are yet to meet, but I’ve been devouring all the material on him, and from what I’ve read, he seems like a humble man with an interesting back story.”

Elaborating on his perspective in the upcoming project Nikhil had earlier said, “I am doing a film on Batla House next, it’s a very controversial subject. Were the five boys inside the building really terrorists or were they students? Was the encounter real or fake? We are hoping to answer these questions in the movie. We want to make films that are very relevant and topical.”

He also told the tabloid, “The encounter will be seen from three perspectives — that of the police, those present near the location, many of whom believed that the bullets flying were for the TV serial Swabhimaan, which was being shot in the vicinity just two days ago, and the real picture.”

Batla House encounter, officially known as Operation Batla House, took place on September 19, 2008, against Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists in Batla House locality in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, in which two suspected terrorists were killed while two other suspects were arrested. Encounter specialist and Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who led the police action, was also martyred during the incident.

John, meanwhile, is awaiting the release of Parmanu The Story of Pokhran.

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