How the Ranga-Billa case, which inspired Rakh, affected Bobby Deol’s childhood
As Rakh revisits the 1978 Ranga-Billa case, Bobby Deol remembers that his childhood friend was kidnapped by the duo and went on the run. He reflected on how crime left an indelible mark on families and children beyond the headlines.
Release of true-crime drama ash Has once again drawn attention to the Ranga-Billa case of 1978. Actor Bobby Deol recalls the heartbreaking tragedy that directly impacted his childhood in 2025, when one of his close friends was kidnapped by the notorious duo.
Bobby, in an interview Raj Shamni’s podcast states that this incident changed the way he lived his life while growing up. The actor revealed that a close school friend of his was kidnapped by the duo, whose crimes terrorized the country in the late 1970s.
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However, the friend managed to escape alive due to the confusion described by Bobby. The actor said, “Of all the people they kidnapped, he was the luckiest. There was a confusion between Billa and Ranga. My friend was with Ranga, and the police were focusing on them. Ranga ran away and left my friend at a paan shop. The shopkeeper asked him where he lived and brought him home.”
Bobby also said that during interrogation by the kidnappers, his friend was asked the names of other children from his school, and Bobby’s name came up. After this Dharmendra imposed strict curfew on him. He said, “After that, my father didn’t allow me to step out of the house. I returned from school and that was it. I also learned to ride a bicycle inside my house. In college, when my friends started having parties at home, I wasn’t allowed to go. I had a 9 pm curfew.”
The case that inspired the ashes of Ali Fazal
Almost five decades after this case shocked the country, Prime Video ash Let me look at that period again. Set in Delhi in the late 1970s, the series follows the story of Sub-Inspector Jaiprakash, played by Ali Fazal, a police officer investigating a case that grows darker with every clue. As the search intensifies, the series looks at the emotional toll on families, the pressure of the investigation and the atmosphere of fear in the city.
Sonali Bendre plays the role of Mona Arora, while Aamir Bashir appears as Lieutenant Colonel Ashok Arora. The cast also includes Rakesh Bedi, Akash Makhija, Ramandeep Yadav, Divya Sharma, Vivaan Sharma, Anshul Chauhan and Dibyendu Bhattacharya. ash Directed and executive produced by Prosit Roy, Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket are the producers, writers and co-directors. The dialogues of the show have been written by Ayush Trivedi.
ash Was released on June 12, 2026.