Ashutosh Gowariker, Raghav Khanna Team Up for ‘Temple Raiders’, a Four-Part Docu-Drama on India’s Temple Idol Smuggling (EXCLUSIVE)

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker is foraying into the documentary drama space with “Temple Raiders”, a four-part docu-drama series that delves into the theft and smuggling of sacred Indian temple artefacts. Joining him on this venture is Raghav Khanna of Riverland Entertainment, who serves as creator, writer, showrunner and producer.

In an exclusive chat with Variety India, Gowariker sheds light on the idea's genesis. “When Raghav came to me with this idea of “Temple Raiders”, I found myself saying yes almost immediately. Because I thought, this is a thought that has crossed my mind too."

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He adds, “I was appalled to find out that thousands of idols are stolen every year from across the country, even today." Khanna adds, "I went into a rabbit hole of trying to piece together what goes behind it. What is the underlying nexus of idol theft and smuggling? An idol is not something you can carry as a check-in at the airport, so there has to be a nexus that transports it once it reaches the shores abroad.”

The series promises to be an “investigative, exploratory, and expository” ride that has undergone multiple layers of vetting and fact-checking of all the research. Khanna, whose producer credits boast of documentaries like “The Elephant Whisperers”, “The Hunt for Veerappan” and “The Mumbai Mafia”, further elaborates, “‘Temple Raiders’ is a layered and character-driven thriller where faith and greed collide. From the outset, the ambition was to create a series that expands documentary dramas on their scale, tension and emotional immersiveness. 

“Ashutosh sir has directed the series with empathy towards the story sensitivities while putting on the forefront the many gripping and fantastical elements associated with the series.”

The series is produced by Tudip Entertainment and Riverland Entertainment, in association with Ashutosh Gowariker Productions, with Dipti Agrawal, Tushar Apshankar, Jaishree Khanna and Raghav Khanna serving as producers. Priyanka Chaudhari will serve as the project's co-producer alongside Ashutosh Gowariker.