The role of ACP Rajeev Kumar is In Tehran, is played by John Abraham a tough, clear-headed Delhi cop who’s sent to Tehran in the middle of an international investigation with high stakes.
Tehran Real-life Character of John Abraham
The character might be fictional, but the case behind is a true story, a story that gives you chills till date.
The 2012 Israeli embassy car bombing in New Delhi is the inspiration for this movie. A bomb that exploded just 500 meters away from the President’s House. The bomb was very intentionally placed in the car of an Israeli diplomat’s wife in broad daylight. As the investigation unfolded, the trail led its way to Iran. There were four suspects including Houshang Afshar, being the key suspect for placing the bomb.
Who is real life ACP Rajeev Kumar of Tehran?
John Abraham’s ACP Rajeev Kumar may not be a real name pulled from police files, but he’s certainly built in the image of two real officers: Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Yadav and Inspector Hriday Bhushan. The two onground officers, the ones who supervised and investigated the case from the start.
Then came the time, when India’s Ministry of External Affairs wanted a senior bureaucrat to fly to Tehran, to investigate the case further, but the Delhi police was not very optimistic on that decision.
They were very well aware of the fact about who understood the details better than anyone and they weren’t just willing to risk all the time and efforts put into the case by handing it out to any other officer just for the sake of protocol. Hence Sanjeev Yadav and Hriday Bhushan were sent. And they very well managed to navigate an international investigation with precision and courage.
ACP Rajeev Kumar is, in many ways, a tribute. He stands in for every cop who works behind the scenes, beyond the headlines the ones who don’t care about fame, only about getting it right.