India’s Bollywood Borrows Plot from the Life of a Daredevil Civil Servant

New Delhi (Sputnik): An elite Indian civil servant was caught up in a political debate in 2013 when she was suspended for allegedly ordering the demolition of a wall that formed part of a mosque in the communally sensitive northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Durga Shakti Nagpal, a member of India's elite administrative service – the IAS, found support from opposition parties in the state, and environmentalists, who argued she was punished for taking on the powerful illegal mining lobby as a local magistrate in Gautam Buddh Nagar of Uttar Pradesh, in the national capital region.

Inspired by her grit in fighting a strong political lobby, Bollywood producer Sunir Khetarpal, took a chapter from Nagpal's life for his yet to be named upcoming film. Khetarpal's big-budget film "Kesari", based on the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi' with superstar Akshay Kumar however, did not fare well in the box office, reports Indian news agency IANS.

Talking about the project, Kheterpal said: "This is an inspirational story of a brave soul who demonstrated the epitome of courage. Durga Shakti Nagpal showed exemplary grit and courage to tread on the path of idealism and righteousness.

"At Azure Entertainment, our priority is providing entertainment to the audience while not compromising on strong and powerful content. With the story of Durga Shakti, we want to make the audience aware of this ideal hero and how she stood her ground against hardships, for the ethics that she believed in."

Nagpal is currently serving at the federal Agriculture Ministry in New Delhi after her suspension was revoked, following growing demand from several political parties and the public.