Director Shaneil Deo opened up about the unique creative experience of working with Anurag Kashyap in Dacoit, calling it both nerve-wracking and deeply enriching. Speaking at the film’s teaser launch, Deo admitted that having a filmmaker of Kashyap’s stature on set initially felt intimidating.“It was nerve-wracking to have such a legend on the set,” Deo said. “But honestly, it felt like a film school right there on location. Sir was always present, and you get to learn so much just by observing and interacting with him.”
Deo went on to explain that Dacoit was never conceived as a simple bilingual remake. Instead, the team treated the Hindi and Telugu versions as two distinct films, each crafted with its own cultural and narrative sensibility.“It was a journey where we had to make two films one in Hindi and one in Telugu and each language was addressed separately,” he explained. “We made sure we did our due diligence. Every version was treated as its own entity. It’s not a copy-paste job.”
The director stressed the level of research and detailing that went into both versions. “We believed in the story, so we did our research, we wrote it accordingly, and we edited it accordingly. It’s a proper Hindi film, and it’s a proper Telugu film. We’re really proud of that.”For Deo, the process was as much about creative integrity as it was about execution—ensuring that audiences in both languages experience a film that feels authentic rather than adapted.
Dacoit is an upcoming Indian action-thriller starring Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur in the lead roles. Directed by Shaneil Deo, the film is a Hindi–Telugu bilingual project that has been developed as two distinct cinematic experiences. The ensemble cast includes Anurag Kashyap, Prakash Raj, Atul Kulkarni, and Sunil, with Adivi Sesh also co-writing the script. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on March 19, 2026.