Sanjay Gupta, Samit Kakkad to direct web-series on ‘drug queen’ Baby Patankar

Sanjay Gupta and Samit Kakkad are all set to direct a 10-part web-series on the life of Shashikala 'Baby' Patankar, who acquired the title of ‘drug queen’ because of her profession. The project is being backed by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series.

Patankar, a resident of Mumbai’s Worli locality, had to endure a life of poverty and turmoil after being abandoned along with her two children by her abusive husband. She tried to make ends meet by doing odd jobs like supplying milk before entering the lucrative drug trade. 

Sharing the reason for wanting to tell this story, Kakkad told Cinestaan, “I am immensely excited to bring her story to life because I have studied her as a person. She is an interesting personality. She has broken the glass ceiling at every level — she saw extreme poverty, extreme power and extreme struggle all her life. A woman like that, who steps into a male-dominated world and takes it by a storm, should be talked about.” 

He added, “Yes, the means to her end may not have been socially acceptable but she had the hunger to grow, to not just give her children the best but also make enough for them so they didn’t have to see the abject poverty that she saw when she was young. I have followed her life and studied it closely to understand the woman behind the drug baroness. It’s been my dream to bring this character to life on screen; luckily we won’t have to restrict ourselves in the runtime. And we can go all out to say things as they are.”

Speaking about the show, Gupta told the newspaper Mid-Day that Patankar controlled the biggest narcotics empire in India. "In 2015, she was arrested after 120 kilos of mephedrone was found at her residence. Our story traces the manhunt that remained unfulfilled till she surrendered. Her rise to power hinges on how she took over what was popularly considered a male bastion. How she exploited her romance with a cop is another interesting facet. We’ll also focus on her rivalry with existing drug lords who cut off her supplies," the filmmaker said.

Gupta also credited Kakkad with acquiring the rights to Patankar’s life story.

Explaining how he pulled this off, Kakkad said, “So, Baby Patankar’s son Girish and I go back a long time. We've known each other for years. As a friend, he was happy to let me work on his mother’s life story and tell the world who she really is. There is plenty about her in the public domain but that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. There were many filmmakers chasing Girish for the rights to his mother’s biopic but he trusted my vision and signed up with Sanjay Gupta at my behest. Shashikala Patankar also trusted me and went all out to speak her heart and there’s much more to do now since we have a longer run time.”

The cast for the project will be locked in the next few months.

Gupta is also producing a biopic on the controversial bar dancer Sweety titled Topaz, which will be directed by Kakkad.