Sushant says he had been trying to bag film with director, known for his reclusive nature, long before Sonchiriya materialised
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; January 30, 2019)

Sushant Singh Rajput's eclectic choice of movies continues with Sonchiriya, which sees him as a dacoit in Chambal. While the film marks his first collaboration with Abhishek Chaubey, the actor admits that he would often try to reach out to the director in the hope of teaming up with him.

"I had been trying different ways to land up [at his office] or to 'accidentally' meet him. He is a unicorn, you can't see him," laughs Rajput, referring to the director's reclusive nature. Naturally then, his joy knew no bounds when Chaubey offered him the drama. "He met me during the Kedarnath shoot; as he narrated the first page in my hotel room, I noticed that he had the entire script ready. I knew then that I had to do the film."

Bollywood has had its share of dacoit dramas, most acclaimed being Bandit Queen (1994) and Paan Singh Tomar (2012). He says of the film set in 1975, "The timeline of Sonchiriya falls between these two films. [Like in these films], we too used the local dialect [to add authenticity]."