Nawazuddin to star in Farooki flick

Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, for the first time, is making an English-language film -- “No Land's Man” -- that will star the illustrious Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, according to Variety, an entertainment magazine.

Known for his outstanding performances in critically acclaimed films like “Manto”, “The Lunchbox”, “Gangs of Wasseypur” and in Netflix series “Sacred Games”, Nawazuddin will also be co-producing the film through his production company -- Magic If Films.

Popular actor Nusrat Imrose Tisha is co-producing along with Farooki through the latter's production house, Chhabial.

Anjan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Food & Beverage Ltd (SFBL), will also be a co-producer of “No Land's Man”.

“I have been with the development of the script of 'No Land's Man' right from the beginning,” says Tisha. “I am so much more excited about producing this film and that too for the first time. I am looking forward to producing many more which will speak of Bangladesh, our culture and also our unique language of films.”

“No Land's Man” is about a South Asian man's journey, which gets all the more eventful when he meets an Australian girl in the USA.

“Ever since I read the script, it stayed with me,” said Nawazuddin, according to a press release.

“The script explores today's strange world that we are living in, with strong humour, satire, and emotion. There are some films which need to be made anyhow. I felt compelled to be associated with the project in more than the capacity of an actor as I thought this is that kind of film which needs to be made,” he said.

Co-producer Anjan had earlier produced movies and documentaries in Bangladesh, two of the famous ones being “Lalon” and “Monpura”. He said it was the story and the script that caught his attention.

“Farooki has been working on this film for a very long time. When he came to me with the script, I gave it a read and loved it,” he said, adding, “I am very excited to be a part of this film, mainly because this film will not only make the viewers think, but also because this is quality film.

“The film speaks about different people, their values, cultures and religions. However, the film stresses on and also promotes unity of the different cultures. The story is about looking out for one another,” he said.

According to Farooki, “No Land's Man” is about the nomad that lives within us.

“From time immemorial, people have been moving, from east to the west and vice versa,” he said. “One cannot stop these changes and these movements, since change is constant. It's the results and consequences of these movements, changes and the mixing of cultures that I find extremely fascinating. 'No Land's Man' is about appreciating these changes, embracing new challenges and experiencing new stories.”

Farooki's “Television” was the closing film of the 2012 Busan Film Festival. His latest venture, “Saturday Afternoon”, a hostage drama based on a terrorist attack, has been selected for the Main Competition category at the 41st Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF), which will be held later this month.

In 2014, “No Land's Man” won the Motion Picture Association of America and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund; was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was also chosen as the best project at India's Film Bazaar. Shooting for the film will begin later this year.