Anurag Basu has been criticized by all and sundry after the debacle of Jagga Jasoos (2017). While critics panned him, the film's star Ranbir Kapoor's father Rishi Kapoor even called the director irresponsible.
Basu’s image is likely to take a further beating now as mathematician Anand Kumar has claimed that the filmmaker had agreed to make a biopic on him but then backed out without informing him.
“I was hurt, but it has worked out for the best. I'm hopeful that this team will do more justice. I wanted my story to go in the right hands," Anand Kumar told midday.com.
The mathematician's biopic, tentatively titled Super 30, is now being helmed by Vikas Bahl, with Hrithik Roshan set to play Anand Kumar.
Kumar had recently met Hrithik Roshan, whom he would be coaching to prepare for the role. The mathematician expressed satisfaction with the way Bahl and Roshan have so far kept him involved in the project.
“Both Hrithik and Vikas have kept me in the loop. They want to make the story as authentic as possible. They have taken a lot of research material from me. Vikas has promised that I will be consulted at every point during the research and writing process. I'm satisfied with the way it's shaping up,” Anand Kumar said.
Anand Kumar is the architect of the Super 30 programme, wherein he picks 30 children and trains them for the JEE-Advanced examination. He has been coaching students since 2002 for the entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology. He is said to have coached hundreds of students so far, mostly those who cannot afford private tutorials. By 2017, 396 out of the 450 students to have studied in Anand Kumar's classes made it to the IITs.
Anand Kumar’s selfless act has been covered by Discovery Channel, BBC and The New York Times.