From the Perspective of One of India’s Longest-Serving Jailers: ‘Black Warrant’ Brings a First-of-its-kind Prison Drama to Netflix

Mumbai, 9th December 2024 – Behind the high walls of Asia’s largest prison – Tihar Jail, a novice jailer uncovers the untold stories and moral dilemmas that lie within. This sets the scene for Black Warrant, a first-of-its-kind prison drama that marks Vikramaditya Motwane’s return to long-form storytelling on Netflix following the success of Sacred Games and CTRL. Presented by Applause Entertainment, an Andolan Production in association with Confluence Media, the series is a dramatised book adaptation of Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury’s “Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer.”

Set in the 1980s, Black Warrant is a fictionalised retelling of certain true events told from the perspective of Sunil Gupta, a timid rookie jailer at Tihar Jail, as he confronts the brutal realities, high-profile cases and complex power dynamics within Tihar’s walls.

Vikramaditya Motwane reflects, “Black Warrant is a book that is raw, intense, and authentic and immediately demands to be brought to life. Collaborating with Netflix, Applause Entertainment, and Confluence has been incredible, and I’m grateful to have had partners who have supported me and the team in telling this story the way it deserves to be told.”

Sameer Nair, Managing Director of Applause Entertainment, expressed his excitement: “Black Warrant delves into the untold contemporary history of Tihar Jail—a world rarely explored with such depth and authenticity. Collaborating with a visionary like Vikramaditya Motwane has brought a unique perspective, infusing the story with both nuance and realism. Partnering with Netflix allows us to share this powerful and resonant tale with a global audience, offering a rare glimpse into a hidden world that leaves a lasting impact.”

Tanya Bami, Series Head, Netflix India, said, “We are so excited to start 2025 with something completely fresh, distinctive and truly in signature Netflix style. True crime is a genre our members can’t get enough of. Behind this defining series is Vikramaditya Motawane who also created our maiden series Sacred Games. We’re thrilled to rekindle this successful partnership again for Black Warrant, with Vikram, Applause, Andolan & Confluence media. Black Warrant is a defining show in the landscape of crime and Vikram’s craft brings to life a tone and telling that captures the many firsts of this story with utmost flair. It is India’s first prison drama, based on a recount of India’s longest tenured jailer and a story that is an absolute must watch!”

Discover the stories inside Tihar through the lens of one of India’s longest-serving jailers
in Black Warrant, only on Netflix.

ABOUT NETFLIX:
Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with 283 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films, and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching, as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

ABOUT APPLAUSE ENTERTAINMENT:
Applause Entertainment is a leading Content & IP Creation Studio with a focus on premium drama series, movies, documentaries and animation content. A venture of the Aditya Birla Group, led by media veteran Sameer Nair, the studio has produced and released popular series across genres and languages which includes shows like Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, Mithya, Criminal Justice, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, Undekhi, Kafas, Bhaukaal and others that have gone on to win acclaim and applause. The content studio has recently forayed into theatrical movies, documentaries with the acclaimed film ‘Zwigato’, Tamil hit ‘Por Thozhil’, a rom-com ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar’, direct to streaming Sharmajee Ki Beti and one of its kind Documentary ‘Modern Masters’. Applause has partnered with leading platforms like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV, MX Player, ZEE5 and Voot Select for its creative output.

ABOUT ANDOLAN PRODUCTION:
Founded in 2018 by writer, director, producer Vikramaditya Motwane, Andolan Films is a film production company geared towards narrative fiction series, motion pictures, short films and documentaries. Since its inception, Andolan has produced the narrative feature AK vs AK (Netflix, 2020), featurette 2024 (for One Plus, 2021), the comedy series Decoupled (Netflix, 2021), the epic period drama series Jubilee (Amazon Prime Video, 2023) and cyber thriller CTRL (Netflix, 2024). Currently under production are documentary Indi(r)a’s Emergency and crime series Black Warrant. To encourage fresh voices in the business, Andolan has also produced the short films The Booth (2019), Khabsurat (2021) and Under The Waters (2022) that have gone on to earn acclaim.

ABOUT CONFLUENCE MEDIA:
Confluence Media is an award-winning content hub that partners with global media outfits, studios, production houses, and other entities to investigate, research, and produce impactful content. With a focus on journalistic rigour and deep research, Confluence works across various formats, including podcasts, documentaries, feature films, and scripted series. The company has produced acclaimed podcasts and documentaries with BBC, Spotify, Discovery, and Radio Azim Premji, and recently co-produced the Netflix web series Black Warrant. Confluence Media is currently developing new scripted series, films, and podcast projects with global media houses.