aActor Adarsh Gourav, known for films like The White Tiger (2021) and Superboys of Malegaon (2024) will be headlining a film called Gangster on the Run, an adaptation of Puja Changoiwala’s 2020 non-fiction book of the same name about Rahul Jadhav, a Mumbai sharpshooter who later became a marathon-running social worker.
As per a report in Variety, the film will be helmed by Paatal Lok (2020) director Prosit Roy from a screenplay by frequent collaborator Abhishek Banerjee, whose credits include Pari (2018) and Paatal Lok season 2 (2025).
An Amazon synopsis of the book reads: “He ran from a life of drugs and bullets. Now, he runs to shatter records. Rahul Jadhav took the name 'Bhiku' after a character from the 1998 cult classic Satya - a gangster who was everything Rahul once wanted to be. Capturing his don's attention as a tech-literate criminal, running his extortion ring over Skype, Rahul found himself shouting threats down the barrel of his gun and became one of the most wanted gangsters of his time. After his arrest in 2007, the extortionist and hitman was left a shadow of his former self, ravaged by alcoholism and drug abuse - which twisted his mind into a near schizophrenic state. That was only part of his journey. Today, the gunrunner is an ultra-marathoner who has covered nearly 10,000 kilometres - including a 2019 run from Gateway of India to India Gate - and aims to shatter the national stadium run record.”
The project, which was unveiled at the WAVES Film Bazaar, the market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, is being developed as a global true-crime drama, with producers actively seeking an international co-production partner. Lead producer Sidharth Jain will meet potential collaborators at Content London in early December.
“Rahul is one of the most layered, demanding characters I’ve encountered — someone shaped by violence yet capable of profound transformation,” Adarsh said. “It’s the kind of role that forces you to dig deep as an actor, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with Prosit on a story this raw and universal.”
Prosit added: “Rahul’s story has the emotional power, complexity and cinematic tension that translates anywhere in the world. It’s a gritty, human tale that blends redemption, identity and consequence.”
The film is produced by Jain, Kanchan Marathe and Rohit Vedprakash, with partial financing from Filmoney Ink, a soon-to-launch Dubai-based fund focused on theatrical Indian genre films and international projects designed for global audiences.