A lot goes into making a series, but the first — and most important — step is getting the content right. Former Indian Navy sailor and screenwriter Vipul K Rawal, who has written the recent Netflix series Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web, says that while not all his stories are inspired by reality, the Emraan Hashmi-led series is one that “is based on many real-life incidents, a result of director Neeraj Pandey and my extensive research”.

Rawal says he had insider access while writing the story of a customs officer, and integrated several real accounts into the script. “We were introduced to both retired and active smugglers by our consultant, who happens to be a customs officer. A lot of their modus operandi has been incorporated in the script, which was given to us by smugglers and customs officers.”