Gujarat murder convict hides on movie sets for 12 years, slipped into ‘Empuraan’ crowd too

For nearly 12 years, Hemant Nagindas Purushottamdas Modi, a murder convict who absconded while out on parole, lived under multiple fake identities in Mumbai and Gujarat, quietly blending into the world of cinema as a junior artiste. He worked on films such as 'Thugs of Hindostan' and 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar', featuring stars like Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Ranveer Singh, while remaining on the run from police. His arrest in Ahmedabad last week has now unravelled a story that feels stranger than fiction.

But for Malayalam cinema audiences, the story took an even stranger turn when reports revealed that the absconding convict had also made an appearance in Mohanlal’s 'L2: Empuraan', slipping into one of the biggest Malayalam films of recent times without anyone noticing.

Not even the movie's cinematographer Sujith Vasudev.

“'Empuraan' was a film with almost 3,000 people in it,” Sujith said, reacting to the reports. “At some point, he must have come and stood somewhere. Maybe alongside an artiste. Other than that, we don’t know who he is or how he came to the sets.”

And Sujith’s response captures that eerie anonymity perfectly.

“I haven’t seen him in any of my frames,” he said. “These may be people who just came and passed.”

In hindsight, it almost feels cinematic in itself. A man living under borrowed names, moving unnoticed through crowded film sets, blending into the background of massive productions while carrying a secret life no one around him knew existed.

According to reports, Hemant had been convicted in 2008 in the murder case of Narendra alias Naino Yashwant Kamble. He and six others, including his brother Sachin Modi, were handed life sentences. After serving around six years in prison, Hemant was granted 30 days’ parole by the Gujarat High Court on July 25, 2014. He never returned.

Instead, police say he vanished into Mumbai’s film industry.

A Times of India report states that Hemant adopted several aliases, including Spandan Kumar, Spandan Modi and Twinkle Dave, while trying to build a life in cinema. He is said to have changed surnames depending on the people he interacted with, carefully reshaping his identity as he moved through different circles. Those who knew him are described in the report as remembering him as someone obsessed with making it big in films.

The report also quotes director Kartavya Shah, who cast Hemant in '53 Mu Panu', as saying that Hemant had told him he had spent years in jail and was out on parole, and that he wanted to make a film based on his experiences in prison. Shah reportedly had no idea at the time that he was dealing with a parole jumper.

People familiar with him are further described as recalling someone deeply driven to enter films. He is also said to have been involved in theatre productions and public awareness skits.

Hemant also ran a YouTube channel called 'Amdavadi Uncle', where he regularly posted acting clips, sketches and self-introduction videos. In one of these videos, he introduces himself and claims that he has been active in theatre and films for the past 32 years.

Crime Branch officials finally tracked him down last week after receiving intelligence that he had returned to Ahmedabad, believing enough time had passed for him to move around unnoticed. He was arrested from a rented house near Gheekanta Metro Station on 20th May.