After releasing some successful web series like ‘Abhay’ and ‘The Final Call’, Over The Top Indian platform, ZEE5 is all set to present a web series based on the life of notorious ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobhraj.
The web series titled ‘Snake’ will be made in Hindi and English and it will run for three seasons. Multi-platform studio Invar Studios Global will produce the series.
Sobhraj is a serial killer, most active between 1972 and ’76 and is now serving a life sentence in Nepal since 2003.
Bollywood film ‘Main Aur Charles’ starring Randeep Hooda, Adil Hussain, and Richa Chadha which was released in 2015, was also based on the life of Charles Sobhraj. A TV show ‘Shadow of the Cobra’ aired in 1989, also explored Charles’ life.
Shobhraj earned nicknames like “The Bikini Killer”, “The Splitting Killer”, and “The Serpent”. He is known as the bikini killer because most of his victims were found dead, wearing only bikinis.
During his crime span, he murdered 15-20 people, reportedly. He used to drug his victims which leads to their death. He targetted backpackers, most of whom were Western tourists in Asia.
He also served 21 years imprisonment in India, from 1976 to 1997, which included a 22-day break period when he escaped Delhi’s Tihar Jail in 1986.
After getting released from jail, Sobhraj returned to Paris and started living a comfortable life. He hired a publicity agent and charged large sums of money for interviews and photographs. Reportedly, he charged over $US15 million for the rights to a movie based on his life.