Sairat director Nagraj Manjule’s Hindi-language debut, Jhund, will go on the floors in November, Mumbai Mirror reported. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, the sports drama is based on the life of Vijay Barse, a retired school teacher in Nagpur who runs a football coaching academy for underprivileged children. Bachchan plays the role of the Slum Soccer founder, who works to steer children away from a life of crime and drug use through sport.
Manjule told Mumbai Mirror that other than Bachchan, all actors in Jhund will be newcomers. “No other actor fits the role, only Mr Bachchan can do justice to this particular character,” he told the publication.
Jhund is being produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series, Savita Raj Hiremath and Manjule.
Bachchan will next be seen in Vijay Krishna Acharya’s period drama Thugs of Hindostan, which will be released on November 8.
Manjule made his feature filmmaking debut with Fandry (2013), which won the National Film Award. His second feature as director, Sairat (2016), is the highest-grossing Marathi film so far and was remade in Hindi this year as Dhadak, starring Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor.
