Rajkummar Rao and producer Dinesh Vijan shared the stage at FICCI Frames 2026 in Mumbai, where they opened up about their creative partnership and the making of Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam. During the session, Vijan spoke at length about what made the story of public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam stand out for him and why he felt Rajkummar Rao was the right actor to bring the complex character to life. The 26th edition of FICCI Frames was held on September 29 and 30 at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt, with film critic Anupama Chopra moderating the insightful conversation.
Talking about the decision to back Prahaar despite the possibility of choosing a more conventionally commercial script, Dinesh Vijan said, “I think if you you sit with Mr. Nigam and spend 3 hours. I wish he was here. You'd understand why I have done the film and why Rajkummar has done the film. He's a very interesting, layered and beautifully complicated character. And I think another part of this film which has not come out is something we'll all relate to is that in order to do what he did in order to do whatever we do there's a whole family system that sacrifices, and I think that aspect is also beautiful and the fact that he fought 93 and he fought 26/11 and he put the learnings of 93’, he said it's not just about hanging these people it's about connecting it and making this stop.”
Vijan went on to discuss the larger questions surrounding Nikam’s approach to the cases and the democratic principles involved in ensuring a fair trial. He said, “Only when we connect it back to where they came from and we establish a direct link and then it will stop. And that is why you know when you see the film, you will know, why he filed single charge sheet, the film is a procedural drama. So you know all of us had this rage why did the trial take so long when we could clearly see it in the pictures. Why did we hang him? because we're India, we're going to give a fair trial. we are a democracy and just the when he spoke about all this for 3 hours we knew we're going to make the film.” For Vijan, that three-hour conversation helped convince him that Nikam’s story had enough layers to become a compelling film.
The producer also explained why Rajkummar Rao became such an instinctive choice for the role. Vijan said, “And I remember calling Rajkummar and I'm like and I don't think Raj met him yet, so I love the way Raj goes about it because I don't think anyone else could do the film. So sometimes when you ask me why do I go to Raj, because I don’t I don't think the film can happen without him, I think it's instinctive you hear a story, I realized that it's an amazing story of an individual and then I asked Raj, are you worried about looking flawed and he's just like, we will make it very engaging.”
Vijan further credited director Avinash Arun for bringing the right creative voice to the project. He added, “So I said if Raj could capture that and we needed to find the right director and when Avinash came along he's such a authentic voice and he knows this milieu so well, so I when all this fell into place and we were talking to a few people Avinash was also talking but I said if you want to make this film authentic you should make it with Rajkummar Rao and today if Ujjawal or Avinash was here he would tell you the same thing that I don't think anyone but Raj could pull off those lines with the honesty that he has, not trying to create unnecessary drama, but actually cutting through all the noise and making you feel what reality is and sometimes that's a lot more engaging.”
Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam is directed by Avinash Arun and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films. The Hindi-language legal drama stars Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jaideep Ahlawat and Sikandar Kher in key roles and explores Ujjwal Nikam’s involvement in major legal battles connected to the 1993 Bombay bombings and the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The film aims to explore not only the courtroom proceedings but also the personal and family dimensions surrounding a prosecutor working on cases of enormous national significance.
Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam is scheduled to release in cinemas on October 16, 2026. Vijan’s comments at FICCI Frames offer a glimpse into why the filmmaker-producer was drawn to Nikam’s story and why he believed Rajkummar Rao could capture the character without turning the performance into unnecessary theatrics. With Avinash Arun directing and a strong ensemble surrounding Rao, the film is now gearing up to bring this courtroom-driven story to the big screen.