Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; June 29, 2015)

Manjot Singh, who earned appreciation for his role in Fukrey (2013), has apparently been signed to essay the character of cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu in the Azhar biopic.

Says a source close to the project, “The makers wanted a Punjabi guy for the role and have brought Manjot on board. Currently, he is undergoing rigorous training to get into Sidhu’s character. He has been asked to watch Sidhu’s videos and work on his body language as well as cricketing style accordingly.” The film is expected to go on floors in London next month with Emraan Hashmi playing the titular character.

Manjot and Tanveer Bookwala, COO of Balaji Motion Pictures, which is producing the film, remained unavailable for a comment.