Shoojit Sircar has been working on his Udham Singh biopic for a long time and has finally found his leading man. The director confirmed with Mumbai Mirror that Irrfan Khan will be playing the lead role of the late martyr. He also admitted that he had approached Irrfan last year for it but had to pause because of the actor's health issues. The director told the daily, "I’ve been speaking to both Irrfan and his wife (Sutapa Sikdar), he’s responding well to the treatment and trying to cope with the knowledge that he’s battling NeuroEndocrine tumour by treating the recuperation in Europe like a short and unexpected holiday. I’m planning to visit him next month. We hope to roll by the year-end, but will wait till Irrfan is ready to shoot."

Shoojit also spoke about how this film was supposed to be his first when he ventured into Bollywood but it never happened for some reason. He said, "In 1995, during my theatre days in Delhi, I would go with a group to Punjab which was just coming out of a period of turmoil, and sing songs on communal harmony. I visited Amritsar and Jallianwala Bagh then and was greatly inspired by the story of this fiery revolutionary who shot dead Sir Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in British India, in London to avenge the massacre of 1919."

He adds, "To relive Udham’s journey, I need a performance with finesse and depth which Irrfan is capable of. Also, he’s the only international actor we have today and I discovered to my delight that independently he knows a lot about the history of Punjab. It’s easy working with an actor who’s interested and involved." But it's good to know that Irrfan will be back on the big screen soon. What are your thoughts on this? Tell us in the comments below and stay tuned with us for more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 26, 2018 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).