Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 28, 2017)

Former Director General of Police (DGP), Bihar, Abhayanand’s contribution to the society, as a policeman, and an educator, has been abundant. However, among the initiatives that he is celebrated for the most is the educational programme Super 30, which has recently come under the spotlight after it interested filmmaker Vikas Bahl for a cinematic adaptation.

That Bahl has put Abhayanand’s former associate Anand Kumar (right), co-founder of the programme, at the forefront of his outing, hasn’t particularly irked the innovator. Bahl’s leading man, Hrithik Roshan, plays Kumar in what is being touted as a biopic on the IIT Jee tutor.

However, Abhayanand points out that he was indeed the “brains behind the Super 30 programme.” Talking to mid-day, Abhayanand says, “Kumar was a math tutor since 1994. When he first came home, my kids were preparing for the Joint entrance examinations. They cleared the IIT after I had coached them. In 2003, I thought of starting a coaching centre for the underprivileged. Anand was looking for a job when I asked him to come on board. He executed my ideas. Now, these are the facts. one can gauge the reality.”

Abhayanand, who split from Kumar in 2007 to take his initiative to a wider audience, dismisses suggestions of taking legal actions against makers of the film. The matter, it is evident, is too pithy for him to pursue. “An innovator doesn’t stop at one initiative; that would bore him. My job was to find innovative ways of teaching, and I derive pleasure and pride when my kids make it into reputed institutions. Super 30 is a small part of my extensive career. Even after my retirement, my tryst to educate continues.”

He followed his Super 30 initiative with off-shoots like Magadh Super 30 in Gaya, Rahmani 30 for Patna’s Muslim children, and Sangam Super 15 in Rajasthan. He doesn’t charge his students for his classes.

His story caught the fancy of writer- director Sujit K Singh (left), whose docudrama, Abhayanand – The Cop With A Chalk, is set to be made into a feature film. Talking about his muse, a man who has never used his service revolver throughout his three-decade-long career, Singh says, “He had a strict no-violence policy during his tenure. The work on the biopic is on. We have spoken to a few known producers, and a renowned filmmaker has shown interest. His life is magnanimous.”