Carnival Motion Pictures will collaborate with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s Rauters Entertainment to co-produce the party founder’s biopic Thackeray. Directed by Abhijit Panse, the film features Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Bal Thackeray, who founded Shiv Sena in 1966 and functioned as its leader till 2004. Thackeray will be made in Hindi and Marathi. It is scheduled to be released on January 23, 2019, to mark Thackeray’s birth anniversary.
Carnival Group founder and chairperson Shrikant Bhasi said in a press release on Wednesday that Thackeray is an example of how a “common man can be the change”. He added, “We are glad to be associated with Thackeray the film that showcases the life journey of Balasaheb and the histrionics of Nawazuddin Siddiqui.”
Raut, who is a Member of Parliament, added in the press release, “If there is ever a personality whose biography should be made after Mahatma Gandhi, it is Balasaheb Thackeray. We welcome Carnival Motion Pictures to join us in reaching this film to millions of people the world over wanting to know more about the story of Balasaheb Thackeray, a man who brought out the super powers of the common man with his sheer presence.”
Raut, who is also the executive editor of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna, had previously conceptualised the 2015 Marathi movie Balkadu, which celebrated the party’s ideology.
