Director Shoojit Sircar finally confirmed that he was prepared to start the shooting for his latest biopic, which would revolve around the life of Udham Singh, the renowned revolutionary soldier who killed the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O’Dwyer back in 1940. The lead role of Udham Singh was also announced to taken by none other than Irrfan Khan, at the personal request of the director himself.
In a statement, Shoojit Sircar explained that he had been working on the plot of the movie for over two decades, ever since he had moved to India to pursue his filmmaking career. However, due to the setting being in the pre-Independence area, the time to create it had taken a lot more time. During the promotions of the film, rumors had risen expecting Ranbir Kapoor to take away the lead role of the film. However, Shoojit Sircar denied all of those rumors, stating that he always wanted to cast Irrfan Khan in the revolutionary role, as he believed Irrfan’s personal depth and finesse, and varied knowledge of Punjab’s history rivaled that of Udham Singh himself.
Despite Irrfan Khan being in the United States of America at the moment, where he is being treated for a neuroendocrine tumor, Shoojit Sircar declared that he wanted to start filming the biopic at least by the end of the year. When asked about his health, Shoojit replied in a positive note that Irrfan was doing well in his treatment, and was well ahead on the road to recovery.