Kaagaz: The True Story Behind Pankaj Tripathi’s Character Scuffling To Prove His Existence In Government Records

The significance of ‘Sarkaari Kaagaz’ (Government Records) is the soul of Satish Kaushik’s directorial Kaagaz which was released on January 7, 2021. The film is being hailed by critics as well as the masses for its portrayal of an important subject, also Pankaj Tripathi’s sweet-yet-strong performance becomes the soul of the film. Being inspired by the real-life story of Lal Bihari, Pankaj Tripathi’s on-screen persona in Kaagaz experiences different shades of emotions throughout the story.

With an apt performance and a well-written script, we connect with Lal Bihari’s character and also experience his emotionally draining journey which consisted of 18 years of struggle to prove him being alive as per the government records. As everyone is eager to know more about this real-life story, we have gotten you all covered. So, here’s taking a look at the true story behind Pankaj Tripathi‘s character scuffling to prove his existence.

Residing in Amilo-Mubarakpur village, Lal Bihari lost his father at a very early age and his mother too left him to remarry. Bihari never pursued a formal education but became a master in weaving Benarasi sarees. His life turned upside down when at the age of 21, he applied for a loan to set up a loom workshop. The request for a loan was rejected citing the most unexpected reason- he was dead.

He further discovered the truth that his uncle with the help of the corrupt district administration had declared him dead and the year was 1976 which means there was no proper media or technology that could have helped his case. From there began Lal Bihari’s 18-year struggle to prove his existence. He started from petitions at village-level administration and was fobbed off numerous times but he didn’t give up.

Highly disappointed, Bihari went on to an extraordinary level when he tried to ‘earn a criminal record’ which can indirectly help him prove his existence. He kidnapped his nephew hoping his uncle would file a police complaint but everything went in vain as his uncle never filed a complaint and Bihari freed the kid after a few days.

After plenty of struggles and traveling from district to district, finally in 1994, Lal Bihari found a district official who willingly fixed the error in government records and made him ‘alive’ again. It was just like a rebirth, Bihari also got back his share of the ancestral land.

An unbelievable story that is highly motivating and also exposes the reality of a flawed system.

Experience the extraordinary story of Lal Bihari with the film Kaagaz, streaming exclusively on ZEE5.