Matchbox Shots Secures Screen Adaptation of ‘Gurugram School Murder’

India’s Matchbox Shots has secured screen rights to ‘The Gurugram School Murder,’ a memoir by crime journalist Leena Dhankhar detailing the 2017 killing of a child at an elite school in Gurugram.

The adaptation is based on Dhankhar’s reporting of one of India’s most high‑profile criminal cases. On September 8, 2017, a seven‑year‑old boy known publicly as Prince was discovered with his throat slit inside a school bathroom. Initially, local police detained an innocent school bus driver; later, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a fellow student, who was alleged to have committed the murder in an apparent attempt to delay an exam.

The project is being overseen by Dikssha Jyote Routray, a producer at Matchbox Shots.

“What happened in this case is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Routray said. “It is a tragedy that also reveals darker truths about the pressures facing today’s urban children in India. Our commitment is to convey this story with the careful, researched nuance it merits.”

“This is not merely a crime story but also a narrative of a family’s anguish and years of fighting for justice,” Dhankhar added. “Through this story, we hope to raise awareness of the emotional devastation such incidents cause. The family has endured the loss every day, and justice must be pursued without compromise.”

The project has the backing of Prince’s father, who continues to seek accountability in the case.

“There has not been a single day when we have not remembered or missed him,” he said. “Our struggle has been painfully long, and it will continue until the guilty are met with the harshest punishment. We want the truth to reach a wider audience so that society comprehends our pain and ensures that those responsible are never spared.”

Matchbox Shots is a Mumbai‑based production house mentored by filmmaker Sriram Raghavan. Its portfolio includes the films ‘Andhadhun,’ ‘Scoop,’ the series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack,’ and the thriller ‘Khauf.’ The company is led by producers Sanjay Routray, Dikssha Jyote Routray, and Sarita Patil. Its upcoming war drama series ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ is slated for release on Netflix.

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