Look at Pulkit’s short but impressive filmography, and it’s evident that the director is driven by hard-hitting stories. His pursuit was the same when making Maalik. “For me, the most challenging part was how not to make a simple action film. I wanted to tell a story that has action,” begins the director, recognising how many Hindi actioners rely on stunts rather than story.

But that has never been Pulkit’s modus operandi. For his first theatrical release, the director has reunited with Rajkummar Rao eight years after their web series, Bose: Dead/Alive (2017), to bring a gritty action entertainer about a common man who rises through the ranks to become a gangster in Allahabad. “Bhakshak [2024], Dedh Bigha Zameen [2024], and my upcoming film with Saif Ali Khan have all been based on real-life stories. This time, I wanted a break from reality,” he says.

Pulkit