Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 28, 2016)

Since he shot into the limelight as the uncouth gunda in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been springing one surprise after another, be it the fierce villager in Manjhi – The Mountain Man, the quirky reporter in Bajrangi Bhaijaan or the golfer-lover in Freaky Ali. More recently, Mirror reported that he will be seen dancing and romancing alongside Tiger Shroff in the upcoming musical, Munna Michael. Now, Mirror has learnt that the versatile 42-year-old-actor will be joining Sushant Singh Rajput on a voyage to the moon.

Writer-director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s upcoming sci-fi, Chandamama Door Ke, follows a team of astronauts who set out on a mission which eventually unites the country. A fictional space program culminates in India’s first astronaut landing on the moon in 2018. And Nawaz, whose favourite film in the genre is Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, is gung-ho about his challenging role.

“It’s a futuristic story never attempted in Bollywood. I enjoy experimenting with new things and do not want to attach myself to any particular genre,” he says, pointing out that Sanjay, who won the National Award for his debut sports film, Lahore, has spent years on research and the script.

The film is tentatively set to roll in February with technicians who have worked on blockbuster Hollywood films like the Star Trek franchise, Armageddon and Apollo 13. Produced by Viki Rajani who is re-uniting with Nawaz for the second time after Munna Michael, the film’s prep involves the actors visiting ISRO and training with former astronauts and scientists.

“The physical prep will be extensive as we will have to practice moving around in an astronaut’s uniform and dealing with anti-gravity situations. It is going to be a difficult role but I am super excited!” exults Nawaz who is looking forward to working with Sushant, who recently delivered a stellar performance in MS Dhoni – The Untold Story.

“Sushant and I know each other well. But we’ve both been busy and not met in a long time. We will have a script reading session together soon,” he signs off.