Ashutosh Gowariker plays India’s Sherlock Holmes in the new thriller series “Manavat Murders”

Following successful thrillers inspired by real events, SonyLIV has announced a new series titled: Manavat murders. The thriller series is based on the tragic events that shook rural Maharashtra in the 1970s. It is directed by Ashish Bende and stars director and actor Ashutosh Gowariker in the role of Ramakant S. Kulkarni, a respected crime investigator who is also known as India's Sherlock Holmes.

The series stars Ashutosh Gowariker as a calm and composed police officer who was able to solve one of the most complex cases in history. The series follows his efforts to solve a series of bizarre murders in rural Maharashtra in the 1970s, all in a race against time.

In Murders in Manavat, Ashutosh will be taking on a challenging role. Talking about the role, he said, “I feel very fortunate to have been chosen to play the role of Mr. Ramakant S. Kulkarni, the police officer of Bombay CID, who absolutely deserves to be presented to the audience today. He solved numerous cases that might have otherwise remained unsolved, including the infamous Manvat murders. He was known as the Sherlock Holmes of India.”

He added: “His autobiography, 'Footprints on the Sands of Crime', gave amazing insights into his approach, his eye for detail, the way he dealt with suspects and got them to confess – and his belief in 'seeking the truth beyond the truth'!”

Talking about his co-actors, Ashutosh said, “Another exciting aspect of this show was my collaboration with Makarand Anaspure after several years (the last being Sarkarnama in 1998) and working with two of my favourite actresses – Sonali Kulkarni and Sai Tamhankar. Working with them was like a crash course in acting. I was also thrilled to work with director Ashish Bende who understood this story, genre and most importantly my character very well.”

Ashutosh met Ramakant S. Kulkarni's family before the shooting began. He met his daughter Anita Bhogle and her husband Harsha Bhogle ji to gain a deeper understanding of his character.

The series is based on Ramakant S. Kulkarni's autobiographical work 'Footprints on the Sand of Crime' and features an ensemble cast including Ashutosh Gowariker, Makarand Anaspure, Sonali Kulkarni and Sai Tamhankar in the lead roles.

Manvat murders will be released on October 4th on SonyLIV.