Mumbai, March 20 (IANS) Actor Ali Fazal has shed a lot of weight, is working on a particular accent and is refreshing his memories of growing up in Lucknow to get his character right for "Milan Talkies" which is being shot in his hometown.
Ali, who has returned from the US where he was seen attending pre-Oscar parties, is going to begin work on the Tigmanshu Dhulia-directorial.
The film is a romantic drama and will be shot entirely in Lucknow and neighboring regions. South actress Shraddha Srinath is set to debut in this film opposite Ali.
As the movie revolves around the sorry predicament of single-screen theatres in the days of the multiplex, and the narrative is based in the north of India, it requires a typical accent to be mouthed by the actors.
Ali has started preparing himself for the role. He is meeting trade pundits to understand the tips and tricks of the movie game.
He said in a statement: "Some films allow room for research, some demand lots of preparations, while some ask you to look back inside yourself for all the answers.
"Growing up in Lucknow, I visited a lot of single screens, so I am just refreshing my memories."
The movie went on floors on Monday.
On working with Dhulia, he said: "Tigmanshu is going to be directing me soon. I start shoot later. So till now, it has been friendship and exchanging notes of political ideologies and creative sensibilities."
"Milan Talkies" also features Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Yashpal Sharma and Sikandar Kher.
-*-
Nora Fatehi lands Malayalam dance sequence
Canadian-Moroccon actress Nora Fatehi, who has featured in songs in films like "Baahubali" and "Kick 2", will next be seen in Malayalam film "Kayamkulam Kochunni", starring Nivin Pauly.
This will be the second Malayalam film Nora will be seen in. The first film she shot for was with actor Prithviraj's "Double Barrel".
"Kayamkulam Kochunni" is directed by Rosshan Andrrews and is based on a real-life story. The actress will be shooting a song in Goa for the film.
"I am very excited to be shooting this song with choreographer Vishnu Deva sir. The movie has a great cast with Nivin Pauly and Mohanlal acting in it. It is my very first Malayalam dance sequence."
-*-
Nia Sharma excited about Vikram Bhatt's 'Twisted 2'
Actress Nia Sharma, who played a bold role in filmmaker Vikram Bhatt's digital series "Twisted", says she feels more confident about the second season.
The show, produced by Bhatt and JioCinema will premiere on the filmmaker's OTT platform VB on The Web and for the Jio users on JioCinema from April 25.
The second shooting schedule of the show is currently underway in Mumbai. Nia plays Aliya Mukherji.
Nia said in a statement: "'Twisted' season one came as a game changer for me since it was my move from television to web and also in a completely changed avatar which was tough for me as well.
"I never thought of myself as a glamorous girl or never thought that I'd ever pull of a character like Aliyah. But it gave me a lot of confidence after it released.
"Now with 'Twisted 2', I feel more confident, more glamorous and more experimental in terms of Aliyah's looks and I'm extremely elated that the story also is so much more deep and impactful than last time.
"This is a series and a character that will not be written for me each time I go out to find projects. So I'm going to give it my all."
