Don’t know why I’ve had an urban image, says Ali Fazal

Actor Ali Fazal, who is busy working on Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Milan Talkies, set in Allahabad, wonders why he has had an “urban image” in people’s mind. The Lucknow-born actor, who was in news last year for his international film Victoria And Abdul, was in his hometown to shoot parts of Milan Talkies.

During an on-set interaction, the Fukrey actor spoke about how he landed a role in Dhulia’s film. “The experience has been nice. I’ve always looked up to Tigmanshu sir’s work. I went to his office very casually once... I’ve never gone to someone’s office like that. I guess it was just fate... I got a call from him three years later, asking, ‘What are you doing?’ And I came (on board). I’m very excited to get on to this journey. It’s something different. I have not been a part of such projects before. I’ve had a very different image... Urban, subtle... I don’t know why... I don’t know, that was wrong,” Ali said.

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Milan Talkies is a small town love story. The movie revolves around the sorry predicament of single-screen theatres in the days of the multiplex, and as the narrative is based in the north of India, it requires a typical accent.

Dhulia says Ali was an easy choice for the lead role. “I have kept a track on the kind of work Ali is doing. He is also one actor who has one foot in the west, which is good cinema. His training is good and he comes a good background as an actor. “Also, I wanted the lead actor to have that attitude and ‘lehza’ that people of Allahabad, Lucknow and Awadh region have. If I would have cast an actor who is not from here, the actor would have put it on and it wouldn’t have looked natural. Since Ali is from Lucknow, banaa banaaya mil gaya (I got such a talent readymade),” Dhulia quipped.

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The film, which will mark southern actress Shraddha Srinath’s debut in Bollywood, is produced by P.S. Chhatwal of Filmy Keeda Productions and Prakash Bhatt of Purple Bull. It features Reecha Sinha, Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Yashpal Sharma, Sikander Kher and Deep Raj Rana.