Things are moving at a brisk pace on Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna’s vampire film, the next chapter in producer Dinesh Vijan’s horror comedy universe. Only last month, it was heard that Aditya Sarpotdar’s directorial venture, earlier titled Vampires of Vijay Nagar, was rechristened Thamba. Now, there is an addition to the cast. mid-day has exclusively learnt that Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been roped in as the antagonist.

Playing a baddie is not new to Siddiqui, whose roles have ranged from grey in Badlapur (2015) and Munna Michael (2017) to all-black in Kick (2014) and Petta (2019). But essaying one in a horror comedy comes with its quirks.

A source revealed, “Thamba is set in two periods—in a north Indian city in the present day, and in the Vijaynagara Empire of the ancient past. Nawazuddin’s antagonist has been imagined as an eccentric yet violent character who lived centuries ago. He travels to the present to seek revenge and control the destinies of the two lead characters. The actor is looking forward to joining the horror comedy universe and bringing his own interpretation to the part. Aditya plans to do the look test with Nawazuddin after Diwali.”

Meanwhile, the leads have begun soft prep on Thamba. While leading lady Mandanna’s look test was conducted last month, Khurrana’s is slated today. If things go as planned, Sarpotdar will call action on the film in November-end or early December.

The source added, “The first two-week schedule will kick off with a night shift in Mumbai. A massive set of Vijayanagara is being built by production designers Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty for this leg. This will be followed by a Delhi schedule in January, and the final one in south India.”