Telegraph infographic

In the film, a male voice narrates in Hindi the accomplishments of Asthana who has been described as an honest police officer.

The narrator says people just pass by in the crowded world but there are some special figures who leave an indelible mark through their work. The images of Sardar Patel, Netaji and Swamiji then roll by.

The voice-over knows how to play hard to get: “This man is one of those special people whose every stride has been towards a noble cause and he has set an example of determination and integrity and enhanced the honour of his post.”

The suspense is killing, agonising the viewer with flashes of the boot and the baton and the epaulette.

The penny drops when the name badge reveals itself and the voice-over lets out the state secret: “This man is our beloved Rakesh Asthanaji.”

The following shots show Asthana at work. He is also seen reading books, probably at his home, and strolling with his wife and sitting with her on a swing.

Setting the tone for the finale, the voice says people of Surat salute this “jaanbaz (daring)” officer.

The film ends with an Urdu couplet.

“Yun toh jahaan mein sabhi aate hain jeene ke liye/ zindagi woh hai jis par zamana fakr kare (Everyone comes to this world to live, but a life is one that the entire world is proud of.)”

One CBI officer suggested that the film was modelled on Zanjeer, the 1973 cop movie that launched Amitabh Bachchan as “the angry young man”.

Since it was not clear in which CBI camp this officer belongs to, it cannot be stated with certainty whether the parallel with Zanjeer was drawn as a compliment to Asthana or a ploy to pit him against higher powers in the acting sweepstakes.

At least one award-winning actor had suggested once that Narendra Modi is a better actor than him.

Now, competition is knocking — in the shape of a police officer in full uniform, the camera painstakingly zooming in on every telltale trapping of power except his face, building up suspense in the highest traditions of Bollywood.

The boots hove into view, so do the IPS cap, the baton that is tapped in a way only those used to wielding power can accomplish and the shoulder piece with the emblem.

Cut to the name badge: RAKESH ASTHANA.

The face also resembles that of Asthana, the CBI special director who is now at the centre of an unfolding scandal.

Keeping the officer company in the hagiographic film are images of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda — presumably a clue to parallels that can be drawn with Asthana.

The short film, which appears to have been shot when Asthana was Surat police commissioner, has gained a fresh lease of life on social media because of the current controversy in the CBI.

Sources in the CBI claimed that the video was “authentic” and was made by a PR agency when Asthana was Surat police chief in 2014.

Asked by The Telegraph on Tuesday evening, Asthana declined to say whether the video was authentic.

Asked whether he had given permission to shoot the video, Asthana said: “I do not know.”