Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 14, 2016)

Hollywood period-drama Solar Eclipse: Depth of Darkness, co-directed by Algerian filmmaker Karim Traidia and Indian filmmaker Pankaj Sehgal, is set in 1948 India and focuses on three crucial aspects of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's life - his admiration for Mahatma Gandhi, his emotional bond with his country and his authoritative attitude.

Stepping into the shoes of Desai, who held office from 1977 to 1979 and was India's first non-Congress PM, is Govind Namdeo, who as part of his prep, watched videos of Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi speaking about Morarjibhai. "There was darkness in India following the Hindu-Muslim riots and political turmoil which explains the title," says the Satya and Virasat actor.

Filmed in Sri Lanka and Dubai with a 75 per cent international cast and crew, it is a Hindi-English bilingual. Namdeo is also doing a Bollywood film, Chapekar Brothers, in which he plays Lokmanya Tilak. "The film is set through the 1870s in Pune around the time of the plague that killed thousands. It's about how Tilak motivated three young boys, Damodar, Balkrishna and Vasudeo, to assassinate British Commissioner WC Rand," Namdeo informs.