It`s been a little over a week since Black Warrant dropped on Netflix, and the entire country has gone gaga over the series, which gives viewers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Asia’s largest prison complex, Tihar jail, in the 1980s. Whether it’s the colourful characters in the prison, or the unabashed portrayal of just how much power serial killer Charles Sobhraj wielded within the confines of Tihar through a mix of money, blackmail and favours, the series draws inspiration from the 2019 book of the same name, penned by Sunil Gupta—the jailer at the centre of the story and journalist Sunetra Choudhury.

In conversation with the authors, we go back a few years to before the release of the book, when Gupta had just written and sent a few chapters to the publisher, Roli Books. At the time, Choudhury who had just finished her book about famous prisoners, Behind Bars : Prison Tales Of India’s Most Famous. She already had a long working relationship with Gupta, right from her start as a cub crime reporter covering the prison system, to now being the political editor of a national daily. This made her the ideal candidate to work on the book with Gupta. “I knew Sunil from my early reporting days, and because of my experience and coverage of prison systems, the publisher approached me [to co-write the book],” says Choudhury.