Soumendra Padhi was inspired to make the show after reading newspaper reports about a village, Karma Tanr, in Jamtara
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 10, 2020)

After his Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Budhia Singh – Born to Run (2016), based on Orissa's youngest marathon runner, Soumendra Padhi is set to bring forth the crime drama, Jamtara — Sabka Number Ayega.

The web series, which drops on Netflix today, is inspired by true events in a village in Jharkhand, considered to be India's phishing hub. mid-day had previously reported about the ongoings in Jamtara in a 2017 issue.

Padhi was inspired to make the show after reading newspaper reports about a village, Karma Tanr, in Jamtara. "I was astonished to know that most of these youngsters, despite dropping out of school, have the acumen to dupe unsuspecting people and siphon off lakhs, if not crores of rupees, from accounts. I was told that one of the guys used to work at a call centre in Bengaluru. He knew the advantages of phishing; now, it is considered a lucrative business in the region."

A visit to Karma Tanr proved to be an eye-opener for the director. "I was shocked to see their lifestyle. Easy money has afforded them an extravagant lifestyle. Most of them live in bungalows fancier than that of Amitabh Bachchan; they all have the latest state-of-the art gadgets too. Making fraudulent calls is as easy as making any other call, for them. The show focusses on a group of young men running a lucrative phishing operation till a corrupt politician and a cop make their life difficult. "

The cast includes Amit Sial, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Aksha Pardhasany. "We shot in Jamtara and Nashik. There are several local actors from Jharkhand, and some from the National School of Drama, among the cast," says Padhi.

Now 14, marathoner Budhia Singh cannot remember his days of fame
Subhash K Jha (DNA; August 8, 2016)

Budhia Singh, the marathon runner who at the age of four, created a world record by running non-stop from Bhubaneshwar to Puri, a distance of 65 kilometers, is now 14.

A film on his life Budhia Singh: Born To Run has now been released, 10 years on.

But Budhia says he cannot remember anything. Speaking in a halting mumble, he says, “Main bachcha tha. Ten years have passed. I’ve spent these years in a sports hostel training for marathons. But I am not allowed to run. I want to run. I want to do my country proud.”

The film on his early life made Budhia happy. “I watched it like I was seeing someone else’s life. It was incredible! I was happy that director Soumendra Padhi made a film on my life.”

Budhia remains detached from the film. “When I finally saw the film this week, I couldn’t recall any of the incidents shown in the film. Not the fame nor the applause… nothing! Did all this really happen to me?”

Budhia was impressed by his own story on screen and the child actor Mayur Patole who plays Budhia. “I’ve seen my pictures from when I was a child. Mayur looks exactly the way I did when I was four.”

“It is amazing! When he stood next to me after the film, I felt I was looking at my own childhood.”

At 14, Budhia is raring to get back to running. “But they won’t allow me. The government says I am too young to run professionally. That I’ll be allowed to run only when I am 18. I want to run for my country. I want to bring back the Olympic medal. But I need a good coach.”

Budhia’s coach during childhood was Biranchi Das, played by Manoj Bajpayee in the film. Says Budhia, “I don’t remember much about my coach, but I’ve been told he loved me like a son and was very encouraging. He is no more. I need another coach like him.”

Recalls Budhia, “They came to shoot the film in Odisha. The boy who plays me ran through those very streets and lanes that I did. I watched him. It was like reliving my own childhood, which I don’t remember. Everyone had forgotten me and my achievements."

MUMBAI MIRROR (August 2, 2016)

Soumendra Padhi recreates the two glorious years of the world's youngest marathoner's life for the big screen
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 16, 2016) 



Fourteen-year-old Budhia Awoog Singh's meeting with his onscreen avatar, the five-year-old Mayur, was punctuated with a stoic silence. The two didn't utter a single word, staring at each other with sadness in their eyes.


While for Budhia, the world's youngest marathoner, his epic seven-hour run of 70 km between Bhubaneshwar and Puri in 2006 is a complete blur, Mayur who will play him in an upcoming biopic is privy to every single detail about the runner.

Budhia Singh - Born To Run is based on the relationship between the youngster and his judo coach, Biranchi Das, played by Manoj Bajpayee. Das rescued the little boy from one of Bhubaneswar's most notorious slums, Salia Sali, and helped him achieve incredible heights before he was shot dead in Bhubaneswar on April 13, 2008. Marathon Boy, a feature-length documentary that followed Budhia and Das for five years, starting from 2006, hit screens in 2011 and went on to win an Emmy nod in 2012.

Today, Budhia is a boarding pupil at a government-run sports hostel in Orissa and is pursuing his passion, athletics. "We shot in the slums of Bhubaneshwar. Over 25, 000 people came to see the boy who is playing Budhia. People hugged him and got nostalgic while they also showed the unit Budhia's house and recalled stories about how he had really thin legs but never got tired of running," Soumendra Padhi informs Mirror.

The unit interacted with Budhia's neighbours, relatives, doctors and the late Das's wife to keep the film as real as possible. "The film only portrays Budhia from the age of four to six but there is so much disparity between what was written and the actual story. Even the slum people have different versions so it was complicated," says the director, who has also written the screenplay and dialogues.

The unit also filmed with 400 CRPF officers in Pune. "Officer BS Gill was a crucial part of grooming Budhia and got him to train with the CRPF. We recreated those moments with real officers. Mayur ran just like Buddhia, doing 10-12 rounds of a big ground, leaving the officers behind," Soumendra beams.

Mayur trained for six months for the part and filmed for four. "We needed him to look the same throughout the film so we asked him to not eat chocolates. We thought he would cheat but he was keener to look like Budhia from the TV images. He wanted to be him more than anything else," Soumendra reminisces.

Mayur's life bears startling resemblance to Budhia's. Just like the marathon wonder, Mayur also lives in a chawl in Pune, and lost his father when he was three.

"Both of them don't talk much. They have a piercing gaze and a miraculous effect on people. You will be struck by the adulation they command if you meet them," adds the filmmaker.

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; August 25, 2014)

The latest buzz has it that Oriya filmmaker Soumendra Padhi is making a film on wonder boy Budhia Singh, who ran marathons at the age of 4, and his coach Biranchi Das. Turns out that Manoj Bajpayee will play Das in the film.

Says Manoj, “It is going to be a big canvas film and it will go on the floors in October. We will be shooting at a lot of real locations which includes places in Orissa, Delhi and Mumbai.’’ Meanwhile, the director is still looking for a child actor to play the role of Budhia Singh.

Budhia was born in a poor family in a small village in Orissa. In 2004, he was sold for Rs 800 to a salesman who used to ill-treat him. Budhia then met local judo coach and orphanage operator Biranchi Das. Once Das asked Budhia to go on running as part of a punishment for bullying an inmate and he forgot about him. Four hours later, Das found the boy still running and that’s when he started training Budhia for marathons.

Later on, Budhia acquired a celebrity status, but there were allegations against Das for exploiting the child and he eventually lost the boy’s custody in 2006. In 2008, Das was shot dead at Bhubneshwar. Marathon Boy, HBO and BBC’s documentary about Budhia’s life, was even nominated for an Emmy.