Almost two decades after he launched Vivek Oberoi in the 2002 film, Company, Ram Gopal Varma is set to launch a new face with his upcoming series, D Company, which will trace the rise of Dawood Ibrahim from a street-gang member in 1979, to an “international crime syndicate”. It will release in theatres and on the web platform.

“The story is like that of Mahabharat; it is dramatic, with dynamic characters, and will span over 35 years. It is impossible to narrate the story in a single film, and hence, the production company is making it a multi-series project. The film captures the period from 1979 to 2015, when Chhota Rajan was arrested in Bali,” says Varma, adding that he has invested heavily in the research work to keep the film authentic.

Unperturbed about the fact that Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar are also backing a film on a similar subject, Varma says he has heard that Dongri To Dubai is “very anecdotal”. “[Their series] is like piecing together a number of crime columns published in newspapers. My film’s sources are insiders, and I am also capturing emotions. Also, the information of this film is in public domain. It is the understanding and interpretation which will differ. I believe this will be my career-defining project. We shot the 10-episode series in Goa and Mumbai.”