Ali Fazal clicks into character for dark paparazzi comedy

'Mirzapur' fame Ali Fazal is an actor who does not restrict himself to a single genre of films or even a single industry, demonstrating his prowess across Indian mainstream and independent cinema, having starred in a few Hollywood movies as well.

For one of his upcoming roles, the actor will be portraying a celebrity photographer in a dark comedy drama based on the entertainment industry in Mumbai, that delves into the largely-unexplored realm of the paparazzi world, stardom, the fame that paparazzi themselves obtain along the way, and the lengths they go to do so.

The film is currently in the final stages of pre-production, with the final draft of the screenplay to be  locked for production soon, and Ali to begin his preparations for the same, as per sources quoted in an NDTV report. They also added that the project was expected to go on floors by the end of 2025.

The 38-year-old maverick was last seen on-screen in the highly-anticipated third season of 'Mirzapur', released in 2024, as well as in Khufiya (2023)—opposite Wamiqa Gabbi and veteran actress Tabu—and Kandahar (2023), a Hollywood film about an undercover CIA operative's attempts to fight enemy combatants and escape from Kandahar, Afghanistan. 

He has also been involved in the production of women-led films, the most recent of which was Shuchi Talati's 'Girls Will Be Girls', the first Indian film to win the prestigious John Cassavetes award. It had also premiered at Sundance 2024 and won two awards:  the Audience Award in the 'World Dramatic Feature' category, and the Special Jury Award for Acting (which was awarded to Preeti Panigrahi, one of the film's leads).

He will next be seen this year in Mani Ratnam's 'Thug Life', alongside Kamal Haasan, Trisha Krishnan, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf, and Mollywood actors Joju George and Aishwaya Lekshmi.  The film will be released worldwide on June 5. He will also be seen in the Vicky Kaushal-starrer 'Lahore 1947', a historical drama that also sees Preity Zinta and Aamir Khan in the lead, scheduled for a June release, as of now.

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