Manoj Bajpayee's 'Governor' is based on ex-Reserve Bank of India Governor S Venkitaramanan, who led the central bank's stabilisation efforts during the 1991 economic crisis when India's foreign exchange reserves had almost depleted. Venkitaramanan, who was an IAS officer, had pledged 67 tonnes of gold to international institutions to secure emergency funding, saving India from a sovereign default.