By Narendra Puppala
New Delhi: Happy, but not too surprised is the candid response from the feisty IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal when queried about the announcement of a biopic based on her uncompromising stance in the line of duty. Speaking to IANS, she expressed her happiness at a reputed production house choosing her life as the key topic for their next movie.
The makers of “Kesari” and “Badla” on Monday announced plans for their next Bollywood production — a biopic on Durga Shakti Nagpal, who as a young IAS officer in 2013 fearlessly took on the illegal sand mining and construction mafia in Uttar Pradesh.
She had stoically braved the political pressure that followed in the wake of her uncompromising stance in the line of duty. Looking back at the ordeals she faced in the hands of the political establishment in Uttar Pradesh for her dogged pursuit of illegal sand mafia, she recalls that it was all worth the trouble.
“Given a chance, I would love to relive it all again,” she told IANS. She considers the experience gained during those tough times as invaluable, “within a span of 3-4 months I learnt more than what I would have learned in 4-5 years”. The media and public support during those trying times spurred her on.
While it will be some time before her biopic hits the silver screen, Nagpal is clear about the message it should convey to viewers, especially parents and children. Crediting her parents and upbringing for her sense of duty and fearlessness, she wants parents to see the biopic along with their children.
“Whatever I am is because of my parents and upbringing. They made me brave, bold and courageous. I want that to be portrayed in the movie,” she concluded.
