On June 11, 2011, at around 3 pm, Jyotirmoy Dey, the crime and investigative editor of a city tabloid, was returning home from Ghatkopar after meeting his mother Bina Dey when he was shot dead by four unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen in Powai's Hiranandani Gardens. What followed was a barrage of reportage, a nationwide manhunt and weeks of mourning.

Now, New York-returned, debutant Marathi filmmaker, Jaypraad Desai, has re-created J Dey's life in his socio-political drama, Nagrik with Sachin Khedekar playing the senior journalist who found himself in the midst of a nexus between criminals, politicians and the media. The film will open on June 12.

“Milind Soman plays a typical politician, 87-year-old Shriram Lagoo makes his comeback as a neta with shades of grey and Dilip Prabhavalkar plays a prominent stakeholder,“ reveals Jaypraad who took five years to pen the script along with his co-writer, political correspondent and noted Marathi poet, Mahesh Keluskar, who followed the case years after the media stopped reporting it. “Apart from journalists we also met builders and other stakeholders.“

Won't the film rub a lot of people the wrong way? “If the film ruffles a few feathers I'm unapologetic about it,“ retorts Jaypraad, admitting that one of the reasons he chose to make the film in Marathi. “Fiction comes from non-fiction but the nomenclature of Bollywood is limited to a certain set of ideas. In contrast, Marathi cinema has redefined itself into a far braver medium with interesting content. I agree a bi-lingual film would get a wider reach and eventually that is the goal.“
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Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; April 27, 2015)

If sources are to be believed, a Marathi film loosely based on mid-day’s crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey, who was shot dead in 2011, will soon go on the floors. Sachin Khedekar will essay J Dey’s role in the movie titled Nagrik, suggest sources.

“Khedekar will play a journo called Shyam Jagdale, who works for a daily called Aaj Mumbai. Due to his honesty, he makes enemies and becomes a victim of politics,” an insider says.

The makers, however, do not want to publicise the film as a J Dey biopic, states a source, adding: “Though there is some resemblance to a real-life incident relating to a journalist, the production team wants to call it a work of fiction to avoid any controversy.” The film is likely to be released around Dey’s death anniversary which falls on June 11. The veteran journalist was gunned down in Powai by motorcycle-borne assailants. At that time, he was investigating the nexus between the police and the underworld.

Without revealing much, Khedekar says, “The film revolves around the character of a senior reporter caught in a big political conspiracy. Current events in today’s politics are also discussed in the film.”