Dasvi actor Abhishek Bachchan says cinema is responsible for creating dark image of Indian jails

Abhishek Bachchan, Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur shot inside Agra Central Jail for Dasvi. In an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, Abhishek shared that film industry has painted a dingy picture of Indian prisons, contrary to what it is.

Dasvi is an upcoming Netflix film starring Abhishek Bachchan, Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur. Helmed by Tushar Jalota, the cast and crew of the film shot inside Agra Central Jail instead of a prison set. In an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, Abhishek Bachchan shared his experience of shooting inside a real jail. He also shared that the film industry has painted a dingy picture of Indian prisons, contrary to what it actually is. For the unaware, the interview also took place inside Agra jail.

Abhishek Bachchan, along with Yami Gautam, Nimrat Kaur and director Tushar Jalota interacted with us, exactly at the same spot where Dasvi was shot. We asked Abhishek about his experience of shooting inside a real jail. Speaking exclusively with IndiaToday.in, Abhishek said, “This is actually the very barrack where my character Ganga [Abhishek’s character in the film] was launched. Right here, in fact. We spent a good 6 weeks filming here and almost every day, we used to walk through the jail and come here.”

Abhishek further said, “Very happy to get the opportunity and the permission to shoot on the premises. And I’m glad, Tushar [Jalota] really put his foot down, and said no, we are not going to construct a set. That would have made life possibly easier for the production. But he was very sure that the kind of environment you get in an actual location, we will never be able to recreate. And although I think all of us as actors, were initially a bit apprehensive. I think once we came here and we saw the kind of work it was doing and more importantly, the kind of emotions it brought up in us.”

Abhishek Bachchan also said that the film industry has painted a different image of Indian jails. Shattering the myth and sharing his experience with jail inmates, the Dasvi actor shared, “The inmates were cooperative. We have this preconceived notion of what Indian prisons are and, dare I say I think, we, in the film industry, have by in large been responsible for painting it as a very dark, dingy, dirty picture. But this is what it is. They are very disciplined; they are very well-mannered. You must have seen glimpses of some of them sitting outside there.”

For the unaware, the cast and crew of Dasvi screened the film for 2000 inmates inside Agra Central Jail. Moments before the screening, Abhishek shared with us how disciplined the jail inmates were. He said, “They are about to see the film, but they are sitting very quietly. They are not unruly at all. We were shooting in their private rest spaces, actually, and right behind where we are standing, actually is the place where they come in and bathe in the morning. And if we ever need them to, like if they were coming into the frame, we just had to request them and they just quietly move out. Never had any problems and they were very cooperative.”