Dancing On The Grave: Amazon Prime Video’s first true-crime series is based on sensational 90s Bengaluru murder

The sensational murder of real estate developer Shakereh Khaleeli in Bengaluru, in April 1991, has now become the subject of Amazon Prime Video’s first local true-crime docu-series. Written and directed by Patrick Graham, Dancing On The Grave is a four-part series that will premiere in India and 240 other countries on April 21.

According to the streaming service, the docu-series is a compilation of archival footage, news clippings, interviews and dramatisations that delves into the sudden disappearance and grisly murder of Shakereh, who belonged to the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru in Karnataka. Dancing On The Grave investigates the mysterious murder through exclusive interviews of the key personnel in the events as well as by some who were at peripheries. It also features the perpetrator himself, and the narrative goes beyond the already known facts about the event, digging deeper into the murder that shook the nation 30 years ago.

Produced by India Today Originals Production, the docu-series is co-written by Kanishka Singh Deo. As part of the research, over 22,000 pages on the case were read in detail, while more than 57 people from across the nation were interviewed to gather unknown facts about the case. The cast of Dancing On The Grave includes Anup Upadhyay, Patrali Chattopadhyay, Shafaq Naaz, Madhusudan Naik, Bhavya Sharma and Mohini Kewalramani.

Born in August 1945 in Madras, Shakereh hailed from a Persian Muslim family. The prime suspect in the mysterious murder case was her husband, Swami Shradananda, who was previously known as Murali Manohar Mishra. The investigation of the case involved three years on a sting operation.