After Sacred Games, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui will headline another Netflix project: the film adaptation of Manu Joseph’s 2010 novel Serious Men.
Siddiqui will play Ayyan Mani, the streaming giant said in a press note. The Netflix film will be directed by Sudhir Mishra (Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Daas Dev, Hostages) and has been produced by Bombay Fables and Cineraas Entertainment. Serious Men is one of 15 Netflix original films that the streaming platform had announced earlier this year. The release date and other cast details for Serious Men are not yet known.
Joseph’s novel explores caste and class in Mumbai through the experiences of Ayyan, a Dalit man working as an assistant to the upper-caste director of a scientific research institute. Frustrated by his circumstances and with little outlet for his intelligence, Ayyan spins an elaborate lie by pretending that his 10-year-old son is a prodigy. The novel won The Hindu Best Fiction Award in 2010 and the PEN Open Book Award in 2011.
In a press note, Siddiqui said, “I am very excited to be a part of Netflix’s Serious Men and work with a creative mind like Sudhir Mishra. This is my second stint with Netflix and I hope that people give Ayyan Mani the same love that they extended to Ganesh Gaitonde from Sacred Games. For now, I am eagerly awaiting the release of Sacred Games 2 and can’t wait to see the audience’s reaction.”
Sacred Games, Netflix’s first Indian original series, is an adaptation of Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same name. Siddiqui plays gangster Ganesh Gaitonde, who warns police officer Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) of an impending attack on Mumbai. The second season will be directed by Anurag Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan (Masaan). Vikramaditya Motwane, who co-directed season one with Kashyap, will be the showrunner. A release date for the second installment is yet to be announced. The supporting cast includes Pankaj Tripathi, Kalki Koechlin and Ranvir Shorey.
Siddiqui was last seen in Ritesh Batra’s Photograph (2019).