The Netflix show Kaala Paani has caught the eye of people. It follows the story of an island trying to survive a deadly epidemic, something that many people will be familiar with. Many are wondering if the COVID-19 pandemic, or any other deadly outbreak for that matter, inspired the creation of Kaala Paani and if it’s based on a true story.
One of the writers on the show, Biswapati Sarkar, explained its origins, and where the idea for it came from. It helps to give an insight on the show’s creation, and what truly inspired it.
Is Kaala Paani based on a true story?
Kaala Paani is not based on a true story. The epidemic and response that threatened the people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was made up for the show. Writer Biswapati Sarkar explained that he got the idea for the show’s premise after he visited the Andaman Islands as a young child.
Speaking to the Press Trust of India about the origins of the show, he said,
“There’s no way [to go], the actual walls are six feet high, the real wall is the water, so nobody could escape, not because the walls are high, it is because there’s water everywhere. I felt, ‘Wow, what if this happens to us, and what if we can never leave this place.’ That thought stayed with me for quite some time.”
The best way to isolate the islands that Sarkar and the rest of the team could think of was to create the fictional LHF-27 disease that spread through the Andaman Islands. This means that the epidemic is a narrative tool to prevent the characters from leaving the island and a way to explore the characters.
Who plays Admiral Zibran Qadri?
Admiral Zibran Qadri is the leader of the Andaman and Nicobar, with several officials under his command. He is on a mission to save his people from this illness, which is made difficult as they’ve never encountered anything like it before. Qadri can come off as a strict man, but he’s doing what he can to save his people. However, a trailer from Netflix hints that he is hiding the truth.
He is played by Ashutosh Gowariker, an Indian film director and actor. Gowariker is best known for directing the 2001 film Lagaan which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language in the Academy Awards that year. He also acted in the 2016 comedy film Ventilator.
Kaala Paani Plot Explained
Kaala Paani is a show set in 2027 and it follows the inhabitants of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A deadly disease gets onto the island, threatening the lives of about half a million people. The local government, led by Admiral Zibran Qadri, attempts to contain the outbreak and find a way to deal with the unforeseen problems that the bacterial outbreak creates.
Meanwhile, a scientist and doctor called Ritu Gagra (Radhika Mehrotra) attempts to find a cure for the outbreak while dealing with the many patients that are overwhelming the medical team.
