Begins work on Das's next by the year-end; as also on Lunchbox director Ritesh Batra's next movie
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 20, 2016)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, one of the lesser talked-about Cannes Film Festival veterans from India, recently returned after his eighth film screening at the French Riviera with a new acting gig up his sleeve.

Actress-filmmaker Nandita Das announced at the ongoing festival that Nawaz will play Saadat Hasan Manto in her Indo-French coproduction based on the famed Pakistani playwright and that the actor has already done costume tests for the role.

"Yes, Nandita and I discussed this project at Cannes. I should begin shooting for it by the end of the year. It's a very interesting film because Manto was a famous writer in the 1940s-50s and I am excited to play him. It should be an interesting challenge to do a period drama. I also begin shooting for Ritesh Batra's film towards the year-end so both projects will happen simultaneously." Titled Photographer, the Ritesh Batra film is Nawaz's second collaboration with the filmmaker after the universally acclaimed The Lunchbox.

Nawaz, who was at the French resort town for the world premiere of the Anurag Kashyapdirected Raman Raghav 2.0, is elated with the response the film received. "We were greeted with a lot of praise and a round of applause at the end of the screening. Everyone at Cannes knows Anurag now since many of his films have been screened there. They recognise my work too so it's always a pleasure to be there," he exults.

The 41-year-old actor returned to the bay on his birthday, May 19, which coincides with his son's but he had to ring in the double celebration in the aircraft. "We landed at around 12.30 am on Thursday so I celebrated in the plane with my film's team. My son is away on vacation with my wife in Jabalpur so we couldn't have a joint party. I had a small gettogether with a few friends at home though."

Now that he is back in the city, Nawaz will get busy with Raman Raghav 2.0 promotions with a few days of shoot in between. "I have two-three days of shooting left for Sohail Khan's Ali and six-seven days for Boney Kapoor's Mom. Both will happen in Mumbai," the actor signs off.