Prakash Jha’s Gangaajal, starring Ajay Devgn, turns 23 today, August 29, 2026. The film released in 2003 on the same date. It was a gritty cop drama that showed the topics of corruption, lawlessness and the complicated relationship between the police and society. But one of the film’s most disturbing elements had a chilling real-life connection – the infamous Bhagalpur blindings of 1980.
What Happened In The Bhagalpur Blindings?
In 1980, Bhagalpur in Bihar witnessed a shocking episode of police brutality in which undertrial prisoners were blinded by acid being poured into their eyes. The incident eventually became known as the Bhagalpur blindings and involved dozens of victims. According to a 2018 PTI interview with Jha, 31 undertrials were blinded in the incident.
The case shocked the country because the people responsible were policemen who were supposed to uphold the law. But what fascinated Jha was not merely the brutality of the incident. It was the reaction of society to it.
Jha later recalled that he visited Bhagalpur around 1984 or 1985 and discovered that the story was more complicated than what had initially been reported. According to him, when policemen were charged in connection with the blindings, sections of the local population actually came out in their support. The reaction made him interested in the larger question of whether society could begin to justify an illegal act when it believed the formal system had failed to deliver justice.
Was Gangaajal Actually Based On The Bhagalpur Blindings?
While Gangaajal is widely described as being inspired by the Bhagalpur blindings, Jha himself repeatedly clarified that the film was not a direct retelling of the incident. In a 2003 interview, when asked if the film was about the Bhagalpur blindings, Jha said they were not the main subject and that the blinding episode was only a small part of the film. He described the incident as a narrative device through which he could explore a much larger dilemma.
The film instead tells the fictional story of Amit Kumar, an honest police officer played by Ajay Devgn, who is transferred to the crime-ridden town of Tezpur. There, he finds himself battling not only criminals but also a deeply compromised police system.
So, the film was only inspired by the real life case.
The Acid-In-The-Eyes Scene
The most obvious connection between the real incident and Gangaajal comes through the film’s notorious blinding sequence. In the movie, acid is poured into the eyes of criminals in police custody. The perpetrators refer to the acid as “gangaajal”. In Jha’s film, the term becomes a disturbing euphemism for “cleansing” society of criminals.
Ajay Devgn’s Character Was Fictional
Ajay Devgn played SP Amit Kumar, an upright police officer attempting to clean up the fictional town of Tezpur. Devgn himself clarified during the film’s promotion that although he was aware of the Bhagalpur blindings, the incident was only referenced in the film and was not its central story.
That distinction is important because Gangaajal was never intended to be a factual reconstruction of the Bhagalpur case.
