Stoneman, the dreaded man of Mumbai during the 1980s, is ready to raise his head again, this time on celluloid.

Titled Stoneman, the film is based on the ghastly and inhuman acts of the serial killer and will be directed by film writer-turned-director Manish Gupta, the man behind films like D, Darna Zaruri Hai and Sarkar.

"In the 1980s, there was a serial killer, who targeted beggars and street-dwellers," Gupta says. "Based on this and extensive research, I have made the film. It's my understanding of what probably happened, as the Stoneman was never caught."

The film features Kay Kay Menon and Arbaaz Khan [Images] as cops investigating the case.

So how did this idea strike him? "I was going through a newspaper article listing serial killers like Raman Raghav, Billa Ranga, Charles Shobhraj and the Stoneman. All were caught by the police except the Stoneman. This intrigued me," says Gupta.

"All the crimes were committed between the Matunga and Sion area of Central Mumbai. The victims in the film are real while those working on the case are fictitious," elaborates Gupta.

Bobby Bedi, the man behind films like Fire, Maqbool and Mangal Pandey, has produced the film.