As soon as he came on board as the director of Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, Rajesh Mapuskar knew he had a delicious challenge ahead of him. With Ajay Devgn leading the cast of the Indian adaptation of Idris Elba’s Luther, he had to ensure that the narrative was steeped in the sub-culture of Mumbai. “When I was offered the show, I knew I didn’t want to sign up for a cut-and-paste job. Everything, from the characters to the nature of the crime, had to be tailored to the local sub-culture,” he begins.

The director did so by making Mumbai almost a character, not a mere backdrop, in the Disney+ Hotstar offering. “We used the same locations — say, Asiatic Library and Gateway of India — but we explored them from new angles to capture the sinister side of the city.”

The popular British crime series has spawned Korean, Russian and French adaptations over the years. With the Indian remake joining the list, Mapuskar says he deliberately decided to step out of the shadow of the original, treating it as a new story altogether.

“I have watched all the versions. The show is British in terms of writing, but with each version, comes a new flavour. I had never done an adaptation before. I wanted to know how the makers treated the character that is so famous. It was educational for me. The learning that stayed with me was that we have to forget Idris and Luther while making the show. Through the past year, I have not thought of the original at all. To me, Rudra is a new show with a new character.”

It helps that they found someone as dependable as Devgn to headline the project, alongside Atul Kulkarni, Esha Deol and Raashii Khanna. “Idris is an extrovert; his moves are visible. Mr Devgn is calm on the outside and can contain a storm within. We approached our [protagonist] differently — how he speaks, how he stands. I like to follow my actors and not over-direct, unless they are going away from the narrative. Ajay has done this completely by himself,” says the director, who has also helmed the second season of Delhi Crime.

Ajay Devgn’s digital debut is built on a solid foundation — Rudra: The Edge of Darkness is an official adaptation of the popular British television series, Luther. For a crime thriller that focuses as much on the antagonists as it does on the quick-thinking protagonist, casting director Kavish Sinha (below) says roping in the right actors was crucial. “Casting for the villains was a big challenge,” says Sinha of the series that stars Esha Deol-Takhtani, Atul Kulkarni and Raashii Khanna, among others.

While Devgn and Deol were part of the project from the beginning, the casting director was given the responsibility of building the supporting cast. “When you have powerful actors on board, you have to cast an equally strong ensemble cast. Raashii auditioned with the director [Rajesh Mapuskar], along with the other cast members, including Atul, Ashwini [Kalsekar] and Ashish [Vidyarthi]. Rudra [focuses on] the villains as each episode [studies] a different crime and criminal. The [actors who played] criminals had to be as powerful performers as Ajay. Sameer Nair [of Applause Entertainment] and BBC were supportive about getting new actors,” says Sinha, who also worked on the casting of Rocket Boys.

The brief given by Mapuskar was simple: Even though the series was inspired by a British offering, Rudra had to be desi in its essence. Sinha says, “Rajesh wanted to capture the essence of Mumbai through the series. When I read Rudra episodes, I realised it isn’t similar to [Luther], [save for] his relationships with those around him. We have Indianised it for the audience here. So, I never asked any of the actors I auditioned to watch Luther.”