Filmmaker Prakash Jha, whose films are known to be seeped in the Indian socio-politico system, is revisiting the cop drama genre with Jai GangaaJal, 13 years after his National Award-winning GangaaJal. However, in spite of similar names and the protagonists being top cops in both the films, the upcoming Priyanka Chopra starrer is not a sequel to the previous Ajay Devgn starrer. Of course, there are strong similarities. Both the movies are powerful stories that revisit the dusty heartland of central India, interwoven with our society’s fabric and the kind of respect cops command.

Though Ajay Devgn’s GangaaJal was inspired by a real incident, there is no such direct incident in Jai GangaaJal. The issue of farmer suicides forms a small part of it. The protagonist in the latter is a female and the action has been upped. Priyanka is doing as many action sequences as you would expect a hero to do. Apart from writing and directing the film, Jha is also making his debut in a full-fledged role as a cop with grey shades. He says, “The difference between the two films is that they are stories and situations of two different Indian societies — the society of 2003 which is hugely different from that of 2016. The similarity is the kind of compulsions under which the police functions and the challenges they have to resolve.”

Jai GangaaJal, produced by Prakash Jha Productions and Play Entertainment and co-produced by Milind Dabke, releases on March 4.