Ab Tak Chhappan: How The Story Of 'Encounter Specialist' Daya Nayak Became A Pop Cult

NDTV

2 days ago

Real has often inspired reel and Ab Tak Chhappan drawing inspiration from Daya Nayak, the 'Encounter Specialist' of the Mumbai Police, is just another example. The 2004 film starred Nana Patekar as the protagonist Sadhu Agashe, modelled on Daya Nayak.
Let's revisit the film in the light of senior police inspector Daya Nayak's promotion to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police. According to reports, he received the promotion two days before his retirement on July 31, 2025, 30 years after he joined the police force as a sub-inspector.
Ab Tak Chhappan gets its title from the 56 encounters performed by Nana Patekar's Sadhu Agashe till date. The film was directed by Shimit Amin (three years before Chak De! India) and produced by Ram Gopal Varma. whose penchant for true-crime stories is world renowned.
Ab Tak Chhappan follows Sadhu Agashe, who has risen through ranks as a fearless and goal-oriented cop who is making headlines for almost single handedly taking out the Mumbai underworld gangs.
Despite being in a high-pressure and violent job, Sadhu Agashe is a family man. His life does a double take when the new commissioner MP Suchak -- who has a strong link with don Rajashekhar -- takes charge.
In a key scene of the film, the encounter specialist tells his junior that the job of a Circle Inspector is to "shoot criminals, not control them". The philosophy was simple, effective but not very human rights and media friendly.
Some colleagues are jealous of his growing fame (read: notoriety), some call him out on his face for being irresponsible with his license to kill, while others support his way of working, however questionable it may be.
But Sadhu Agashe is clear in his mind as to what his duty entails, like a horse with blinkers, "Defence is our responsibility, not the department's."
He further argues, "We, cops, are not allowed to think. All we have is the finger to pull the trigger".
Killing becomes like a second nature to Sadhu Agashe so much that after he kills a goon at point blank range, smiling all the way, he casually sips on a glass of orange juice as if what happened a while ago was normal.
And in the world of Sadhu Agashe maybe that is quite normal.
A realistic, gritty narrative, theme of moral ambiguity and duty, and no songs were some of the factors in the success of the film.
It is widely believed that Daya Nayak even served as a consultant on Ab Tak Chhappan makers for authenticity, advising them on details like appearance and conduct of police officers.
Not only Ab Tak Chhappan, Daya Nayak's career also inspired Department (2012). Ab Tak Chhappan later got a Telugu remake in Siddham (2009), fronted by Jagapati Babu. Another Telugu film, Golimaar (2010) is also said to be inspired by Daya Nayak's life.
A sequel, Ab Tak Chhappan 2 was also released in 2015, but it didn't receive acclaim and moderate success like the original.