Dead' man to come alive on screen

Lucknow: Lal Bihari ‘Mritak’, the man who spent four decades trying to prove that he was alive after he was declared ‘dead’ in revenue records, will finally come alive on the silver screen. Well-known director Satish Kaushik is now making a film on the life of Lal Bihari ‘Mritak’ with a working title Main Zinda hoon. The film is expected to expose the system where living persons are declared ‘dead in revenue records by relatives with the intention of usurping their properties.

Lal Bihari, a resident of Azamgarh district, was one of those who had been declared ‘dead’ by revenue officials. Instead of giving up, Lal Bihari decided to fight back.
According to him, the relatives often connive with revenue officials and submit a fake death certificate after which the property owner is declared ‘dead’ and the property gets passed on to the relatives or heir.

“There are hundreds of such cases, especially in eastern UP, and I decided I would not let go of my land. First, I went meeting officials and telling them that I was alive but it was of no use. Then I contested elections and even kidnapped a man so that I could get into government records with my own identity. I even formed the ‘Mritak Sangh’ and clubbed all such cases together. I add suffixed ‘Mritak’ to my name”, he recalled.

After a prolonged battle, Lal Bihari was finally declared ‘alive’ in 1994 but he continues to battle against the system for others who are still deemed dead. Film maker Satish Kausik read about Lal Bihari’s struggle and felt that this was the right time to make a film on his story since biopic is the favour of the season. “Besides, there could not be a more inspirational story than this,” he said. The film is expected to go on the floor later this year and the film maker was in Lucknow over the weekend to finalise locations. The film maker, however, has not yet decided who will play the title role.