Nawazuddin a fascinating actor: Ketan Mehta

Director Ketan Mehta praises the actor saying he is "committed and very fascinating".

Mumbai: Director Ketan Mehta, who roped in versatile actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui to play the title role in `Manjhi - The Mountain Man`, praises the actor saying he is "committed and very fascinating".

Set in 1960, `Manjhi - The Mountain Man` is based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi, who for over 22 years worked on carving out a path through a mountain using just a hammer and a chisel. He dug a roadway out of a mountain that separated his village in Bihar from the nearest hospital. In the film, Nawazuddin plays Manjhi. "Nawaz is a very good actor. I enjoyed working with him. He is a very committed and very fascinating actor. He has done a brilliant job in the film," Mehta said here Saturday during a press conference about the film. Talking about how he signed the National Award-winning actor for the project, Mehta said: "I had seen some of his roles. Besides, his physical type also matched a lot with the character (of Dashrath Manjhi)." "Nawaz read the script and he loved it a lot and he immediately gave his nod," he added. `Manjhi - The Mountain Man` features Radhika Apte as Nawaz`s wife. Besides, it also features filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia and actor Prashant Narayanan in key roles. IANS