THE ESCAPE

LOGLINE: -

In the world of Pakistan sponsored terrorism in India, a modest news cameraman sets out on a journey to Lahore to avenge the death of his pregnant wife by killing the mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

THE BACKDROP: -

Since partition in 1947, Pakistan has fought three major wars in 1965, 1971 and the Kargil war in 1999 with India over their claim on Kashmir. In all of them Pakistan faced defeat and condemn from the world community. When it could not achieve its intent with force, Pakistan cleverly resorted to another form of warfare, putting its resources to train Kashmiri youths in guerrilla warfare and spread terror in India to destabilize the very fabric of democracy. It was also done to keep Kashmir issue always burning and talked about amongst world leaders. And since then India have been fighting the terror and the terror modules not on the frontlines but on its very own surface.

As per a report from 1975 to 2017 there have been more than 12000 incidents of terrorism with close to 20000 deaths and more than 30000 injuries. And each time Pakistan refused to take its onus despite direct evidences. The deadliest being 26/11 attack on the finance capital of INDIA, MUMBAI.

10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting for four days in Mumbai from 26 Nov 2008 to 29 Nov 2008. The main ringleader ZAIKUR RAHMAN LAKHVI supervised the entire attack from Pakistan watching everything live on news channels and instructing his boys for its complete execution.

The incident covered live by the global media raised some worthy questions about the failure of India’s internal security and intelligence. MEDIA – IT’s GOOD and BAD: -

40,000 years ago, some human ancestors painted on the walls of a cave in Indonesia, mostly stencils and hand prints that as per researchers were the first medium of communication. Later with the growth of civilization and invention of paper, the medium grew and took different ways of communications. Whether it was a message tied to a trained pigeon sent from war zones to deliver the message or the kings and emperors making their own achievements written on dry leaves to protect and preserve as their history, Media and thus the medium went through several evolutions.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press, books were mass produced and it gave birth to the newspaper as a medium. The news readers went for a shock when the first photographs appeared in the newspapers by late 19th century and the visuals along with the written words gave a new meaning and power to the media industry. The invention of radio further made it easy for the people who could not read or write. A voice broadcasted through radio waves appeared closer and more truthful to the audience at that point of time. 

Time changed and Canada got its first TV service in 1952 with the first satellite broadcast in 1962. This changed the entire media completely. Words became stills and those stills were sent in to motion to give a live presentation of events and incidents. News and media never remain the same and stayed ever Evolving. Technology evolved rapidly and soon WWW and internet took over the entire medium becoming the fastest and most effective medium of communication to the people.

With the onset of dedicated news channels, the world become a global village connected to each other. Nothing stayed far now, any information and events are reported live and without any delay in time.

For the 24 hours news channel, it became difficult to hold interest with the same news on a loop, and finally they decided to bring the same news in different forms. Talk shows, debates, panel discussions and breaking news were the right shots in the audience’s arm.

The media started playing a powerful role, almost parallel to the trial courts, passing views as veiled judgements, shaking governments and engineering opinions amongst its viewers in a massive way. With the sting operations and live coverage Media soon became a mafia in its own terms. Without its right support the governments fell and soon journalists got a strong hold on everything right from the administration to governance to social structure.

Any reporter who knew the importance of his medium and how to exploit it to get the maximum mileage became a game changer.

THE BACK STORY OF KEY PLAYERS

TILAK RAJ SHARMA: -

After losing his parents to the Hindu Muslim riots of 1986 in Meerut, Tilak Raj Sharma only 15 then, was brought to Delhi’s Yamuna Nagar by his maternal uncle. Reeling from the shock Tilak spent his early childhood amongst the family of 8 in a small one room house.

From his early days’ life hit him hard. While studying in the local municipal Hindi medium school Tilak started working as an assistant in a local photo studio run by a freedom fighter.

The camera gave Tilak a new lease of life and since then it became Tilak’s best friend. Growing up mastering his photography skills and listening to his employer’s stories of India’s freedom movement in the free time, Tilak grew up as a nationalist. The zeal to do something for the country made him two failed attempts to enroll in NDA and then IMA. 

Since his teenage years Tilak kept himself fit and strong by participating in the local akharas and gym.

His foremost passion, the camera remained stuck to him and soon he upgraded himself to a wedding videographer. Soon he moved to his own 10 by 10 rented room to Kathwariya sarai in south Delhi. 

A straight on the face talker, Tilak couldn’t make many friends and always lived a life of solitude in Delhi. With no definite future plans, he kept going with the flow.

With the onset of news channels, Tilak secured a petty job as a news cameraman for a local cable channel. His penchant for risk taking soon paid off and Tilak finally started getting opportunity as a Stinger to freelance for some of the biggies in the news arena. Only hindrance getting a full-time employment in the corporate backed News Channels was his spoken English skills. 

In 2005, when India NEWS TV expanded its Mumbai Office, Tilak got selected as a fulltime employee and moved to Mumbai. While commuting to work to Lower Parel from Mira Road Tilak in 2006 met Shalini, an HR executive working in a travel firm in Colaba. Knowing that Shalini hails from his birth city Meerut, Tilak instantly connected to her. Soon she became someone Tilak found easy to open up to. The after-hours long spent on the promenades of Nariman Point and by lanes of Colaba brew the romance between them that led to their simple court marriage in 2007.

Shalini brought the lady luck to Tilak and he got promoted to exclusively handle the KASHMIR Chapter for the news channel.

Now Tilak lives with a pregnant Shalini in a one BHK apartment in Kandivali East, a suburb of Mumbai. Life is normal as for any other middle-class couple except sometimes Shalini worrying about Tilak’s long absence from her life due to his Kashmir visits.

Tilak now has a stable job, a loving wife and soon to arrive, child. But even now his first love is his camera and the flare to take risks to bring out the truth in front of everyone.

He is a true patriot, a dreamer for a peaceful INDIA without any war and terror and has immense respect for the soldiers fighting the insurgency in Kashmir.

RANVEER SINGH: - 

Born to the 6th descendent of the royal dogra Rajput family of JAMMU & KASHMIR, Ranveer was named after his great great grandfather RANBIR SINGH (1856-1865). Like a true-blue blood his upbringing was also royal and meticulous.

The bed time stories by his mother Shakuntala Devi about the rule of his grand fathers and dynasty always fascinated him. Ranveer grew up with the same stubbornness and controlling nature that his ancestors commanded.

His father Ajatshatru Singh is a parliamentarian from the ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party. The fact that the last ruling monarch Hari Singh acceded the princely state of J&K to the republic of INDIA in 1947, never went down well with its successors. Seeing his father still not in terms with the treaty, Ranveer too grew up with the same dissent. 

Keeping him mostly away from the public life his father sent Ranveer to London for his early education where he further dug in to his family history about the closeness of his great grandfather Hari Singh with Winston Churchill and how Hari Singh served as a member of the British War Cabinet during WWII. Ranveer always felt pride in speaking to his English friends about the role of his family in world war II. 

During his final exams in the school, Ranveer’s mother died fighting cancer. His father did not allow him to return for the final rituals before finishing his papers. Ranveer returned, paid his respects to her ashes and went back to London without speaking a single word. From then he never spoke to his father again ever. They always communicated through mails and messages as per needs.

Ranveer completed his masters from LONDON SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM and started working as an intern in BBC London. For the next few years he focused mostly on India centric stories assisting some of the prominent reporters of that time and soon was promoted to a junior correspondent.

But like a true-blue blood Ranveer Singh also could not save himself from the craving of being in a dictating position rather than being in service to someone. He returned to India with a handsome offer and position in INDIA NEWS TV Mumbai office as a senior journalist.

With his deep knowledge of world history and politics, he soon jumped to the position of the content editor and special news anchor in no time.

Ranveer Singh, now 33 is one of the most popular news journalists in INDIA. His extensive reporting from the state of Jammu and Kashmir made him in to a J&K specialist in the long run.

He still feels royal when he sets his foot in the valley, and still feels that Kashmir would have been better governed under his family’s rule. The large presence of the Indian army in the hilly state is something he really despises. 

So, while reporting, his views are always tilted towards the natives whom he still treats as his subjects, and the same attitude he carries back to his subordinates at work, whom he loves to dictate.

A narcissist by nature Ranveer never gets attached to anyone and anything. With his royal looks, charismatic aura and an envious status he is an instant hit with the opposite sex working around him. But for Ranveer they are just tools for temporary diversions that rarely turn in to a relationship.

Ranveer Singh has huge ambitions to open his own news network and he constantly looks for opportunities to serve his purpose. He is someone who would go to any extent to keep himself popular. He is liked by the Pakistani journalists and media barons from across the border for his antiestablishment reporting from the KASHMIR valley.

JANAKI AHLUWALIA: -

A graduate in journalism from Xaviers institute of Mass Communication, Janaki, 25, gets her first job as an intern in India Tv news Channel. Born to a Punjabi family in Delhi, she always had her eyes on Mumbai for its glamour and night life. A pretty girl with a great body, she is an instant hit amongst her colleagues.

Fascinated by the charms of Ranveer Singh she has ambitions to get in his good books by any means. She knows the one close to Ranveer Singh would climb the ladder of success in no time. She works her ways towards keeping Ranveer invested in her and in no one else.

She is a quick learner, a good speaker and an efficient assistant. She ambitions for a good and rich life and a partner handsome and popular like Ranveer Singh. SHALINI AWASTHI SHARMA: -

Raised in a middle-class family in Meerut, Shalini Awasthi graduated from Delhi University and then moved to Mumbai with her friends. She landed a job as an HR Executive in a travel firm in South Mumbai.

Already new to the city she bumps in to Tilak Sharma and finds him to be an interesting companion. A normal life for her is a decent roof over head, a loving partner and children to take care of. Tilak appears to be the man with whom she could fulfill her dreams of living a normal and peaceful life.

Shalini loves Tilak and understands him like no one else. In matters of work, she gives him the best of advice to tackle with a particular situation. Though she is happy with her pregnancy and thought of a new member in family but she has worries about the long periodic stays of Tilak in Kashmir fearing for something unfortunate. She wants Tilak to take up something of less risk in his job now as the child is about to enter their life. ASHOK DHAWAN: - 

A former Indian Spy and now heading the Kashmir bench in Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Ashok Dhawan is a tough and seasoned intelligence operative. His former years spent in Pakistan as a covert agent gained him some deep in routes in Pakistani establishments and networks.

He is a true patriot, an officer of class and an upfront speaker of the lack of coordination amongst security agencies in the country. Infamous amongst his ranks for his unimaginable ways he is always the person brought in by the top brass to do damage control.

He is always vocal about his ideas of taking some brave steps to finish the perpetrators of terror in Pakistan. But a green signal to such a plan never got approved.

Post 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the government being blamed for the internal security failures, brings Ashok Dhawan on the case and grants him all means to wipe this blot.

JEHANGEER KHAN: -

A media baron from Pakistan, controlling the good part of news channels in an otherwise state-controlled news networks. Jehangeer Khan like most of the biggies a true businessman. His motive is to create wealth and news that could turn in to money for him. He is well-respected and connected to the higher corridors of power in Pakistan. An influential man who has an eye for talented people.

Jehangeer Khan has ambitions to open a new news network in Dubai to get an international foothold. In long run he desires to leave Pakistan and settle somewhere peaceful without losing his fortune. He eyes on Ranveer Singh for his goal.

Finding Ranveer Singh a soft target, Jehangeer is after him to become a partner in his new endeavor. Though he speaks of the establishment highly, he despises Pakistan turning in to a breeding ground for terrorists. Like all other businessmen, Jehangeer also seek a nation for great opportunity and on the path of development not terror and war.

GHULAM MOHAMMAD: -

One of the founder members of Lashkar- e-taiba, a radical terror outfit in Pakistan. In 1994 when he travelled to Kashmir to recruit and establish a new terror outfit, the Indian army arrested him for his terrorist activities.

While he was being tried by Indian courts, in 1999 the government had to take a tough decision of releasing him in exchange to save the people from Kandhar Air INDIA plane highjack.

Since then he regularly planned attacks on India to create unrest in the country.

Sponsored and supported by ISI and Pakistan government Ghulam Mohammad resides in JOHAR near Lahore and is the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai Attacks. He lives in a fortress guarded 24 by 7 by his mercenaries and Pakistan Police Force.

Even after submitting evidences for Ghulam’s repeated offence Pakistan always denied his involvement in any terror attacks on INDIA.

Ghulam Mohammad is the man who killed hundreds of innocent people including Tilak’s pregnant wife. 

THE MAIN PLOTLINE: -

Back in 2008, in the Newsrooms of India News TV, Ranveer Singh wields absolute power. He is a ruthless, ambitious; oxford educated, narcissistic Managing editor of his highly rated news channel that is soaring popularity charts because of their notorious ability to put a controversial spin on every human tragedy. In late October of the same year, Ranveer Singh is on a mission in Kashmir with his field cameraman Tilak Raj Sharma, to cover a search and cordon operation by the CRPF in the Kashmir Valley. Tilak Raj Sharma is a low-profile drifter and an instinctive nationalist; a total contrast to his boss Ranveer Singh. Tilak Raj is an empath who feels deeply for his family and the motherland India. He disapproves of Ranveer Singh’s apathy and secretly nurtures a desire to break away and do something worthwhile on his own. But the financial needs of his family keep him restricted and silently suffering in his India News TV job.

On the Search and cordon operation, Tilak Raj accidentally recovers a coded note from a Kashmiri youth in suspicious circumstances. Intrigued by the contents of the note and sensing a potential national security threat, Tilak Raj dutifully reaches out to the local army headquarters and passes the coded note to them. The duty officer takes cognizance of the information casually and sounds unsure of investigating the matter further. Knowing the opportunistic and egotistic nature of his Boss Ranveer Singh, Tilak withholds the information of the matter from Ranveer Singh in Kashmir.

On his return to Mumbai, Tilak Raj devotes most of his time and attention to his 8 months pregnant wife Shalini. At work, Ranveer Singh pushes on with his unilaterally self-fulfilling agenda and asks Tilak Raj to line up the footage they captured in Kashmir for his upcoming talk show. While going through the footage, Tilak finds the image of the note he shot with his camera and is reminded of its potential ramifications. On a hunch, he takes a print out and decodes its urdu contents with the help of a muslim friend. The broken words points to a possible terrorist attack on Indian soil by radical elements via the sea route. The potential target could be any coastal city in western India with Mumbai being the highest probability. Armed with the new intelligence, Tilak immediately informs Ranveer and requests him to broadcast the news to alert the people and the state. But a self-serving Ranveer yet again makes light of Tilak Raj’s voluntary inputs and questions the credibility of the information. Ranveer insults and belittles Tilak’s gut instinct and severely reprimands him for over-reaching his responsibilities. While Tilak politely withdraws from the situation to lick his wounds in private, unfortunately his gut instinct is proved right soon after, tragically, to Tilak’s own detriment.

On 26th November 2008, Ranveer is all set to host the most anticipated show of his career. India News TV studio is abuzz with audience and panellists from politics to experts to representatives from Army. While Ranveer is ready to grill them live on the current issues of Kashmir, Tilak takes his wife Shalini on a surprise date to Café Leopold in Colaba. He is only trying to distract himself from the office tension when 26/11 happens. Tilak Raj and his wife are caught in the firing at café Leopold. In a surreal stroke of fate, Tilak Raj is grievously injured in the attack but his wife and his unborn child are not so fortunate.

The death of Shalini and the unborn child in the incident devastates Tilak Raj. Recovering in hospital, Tilak Raj is ridden with guilt for not acting strongly enough upon his premonition and blames himself for his family’s death. He completely shuts himself in isolation when he is visited by top bureaucrat from Delhi. Mr. Ashok Dhawan is an undercover RAW official investigating the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The coded note that Tilak Raj had surrendered to the army in Kashmir had reached Dhawan albeit too late for him to take any preventive action. Dhawan offers sympathy and reassurance to Tilak Raj but Tilak Raj wants revenge. Sensing a simmering rage in Tilak Raj underneath his shattered veneer, Mr. Ashok Dhawan leaves his card with Tilak Raj and invites him to Delhi post recovery. Tilak is helpless and riddled with questions in his troubled mind. Upon discharge from hospital, Tilak Raj takes a long leave from work to set his mind right. He visits Ashok Dhawan in Delhi where he is received with kindness and compassion. Dhawan enlightens Tilak Raj about the entire conspiracy of Mumbai attacks, shares the recovered evidence which points to a key conspirator Ghulam Mohammad in Pakistan. With no purpose in life after Shalini’s demise, Tilak Raj volunteers to help the Govt. agencies in bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai massacre to book.

Ashok Dhawan helps Tilak Raj channel his anger and energies into a nationalistic zeal. Over the next three months, Tilak is trained extensively in espionage techniques and self-defence. Shalini’s memories and the unfulfilled dream of being a father drives Tilak to become the best version of himself. Trained as a lethal undercover combat machine and with a mission in hand, Tilak Raj returns to his old job at India News TV and awaits opportunity.

Tilak Raj with the help of Ashok Dhawan manipulates Ranveer Singh and his Pakistani contacts smartly to obtain a visa from Pakistan to pursue a story they could not before the attack. Ranveer Singh is oblivious of the larger R&AW plot and thinks of his Pakistani sojourn as an opportunity to break into an international career. He exploits his relationships with Jehangeer Khan, the Pakistani media baron from Dubai to secure a visa and travels to Pakistan along with Tilak Raj. While Ranveer is excited about finding a compelling story from across the border, Tilak’s single-minded focus is to find and eliminate Ghulam Mohammad.

The trip to Pakistan becomes the definitive coming-of-age period for Ranveer Singh as he is witness to a new version of Tilak Raj every day. Tilak’s confidence in a hostile country, his attitude and actions are extremely mysterious to a confused and confounded Ranveer Singh. Both of them tread an adventurous path everyday laced with conflicts and challenges and Tilak Raj displays an exemplary courage and innovation in tackling every tricky situation. Eventually they are able to locate Ghulaam Mohammad and Ranveer Singh pulls all strings to extract time from him for an interview. Still in dark about Tilak Raj’s real mission, Ranveer prepares a dossier of choicest questions to ask Ghulam Mohammed. But before the interview can conclude, Tilak Raj kills Ghulam Mohammed. Ranveer Singh is stunned into total redundance.

Because of the circumstances, along with Tilak Raj even Ranveer Singh faces a most-certain capture, arrest and prosecution, for a murder that he neither committed nor had any prior knowledge of. A murder that nonetheless has been executed using all of Ranveer’s resources and shoulders in a country most hostile to India. In contrast, Tilak Raj is calmly on a death wish.

To evade capture, Ranveer Singh is compelled to pull out all stops to escape Pakistan through the back-doors and Tilak Raj is happy to hitch a free ride like a proverbial monkey on Ranveer’s back. The Pakistani army, ISI and Ghulam Mohammed’s followers are also quickly in the situation and leave no stone unturned to locate and pin down both Ranveer and Tilak. Ranveer leverages all his resources to chart an only possible escape route to India that is fretted and mined with danger at every possible pit stop. The hostile parties also wait with baited breath for Ranveer and Tilak Raj to show up anywhere they can be swooped down upon. When time comes for Ranveer to make a dash for India, Tilak Raj seizes control and instead drags Ranveer alongside to Iran via Balochistan through a network of Baloch rebels.

In Iran Tilak Raj and Ranveer Singh are received by an Indian merchant and ferried back to India via Chabahar port. Tilak Raj arrives back in India unscathed, bringing honor and Ranveer Singh. He has just fulfilled his life’s mission and brought glory to India and some sort of justice to the 26/11 victims.  THE PITCH: -

The escape is just not another revenge story, it’s the fibre of every Indian’s thought of eliminating people like AZHAR MASOOD, DAWOOD IBRAHIM and others who have wronged India many times sitting in their comfort zones backed by Pakistan. The escape is an attempt to fictionalise the very fact that India can and will kill these perpetrators in their own turfs a la OSAMA BIN LADEN.