Ketan Mehta finalises Nawazuddin for `Mountain Man`

Mumbai: Director Ketan Mehta has chosen Nawazuddin Siddhiqui to act in his upcoming film `Mountain Man`, a biopic on a Bihar-based labourer who did the herculean task of cutting a road through a mountain.

"Yes, I have chosen him for the film. He is a great actor and I feel that he suits the role really well. This is why I went for Nawazuddin," Mehta told reporters. "Mountain Man" is a biopic, based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi from Nagar, Gehlaur, Gaya. In 22 years, he cut a 300-metre-long and 25-ft-wide road through a mountain to link Ghivra mauja of Dashrath Nagar, in Gehlaur Ghati to Atara Prakhand, Wajirganj thereby reducing the distance from 75 kilometres to just one kilometre. Manjhi, fondly called Mountain Man, died in 2007. He was 70. The movie will be shot in Bihar and the director said: "We are still finalising the last schedule at the moment. Once that is done, we will start shooting. The shooting will be held on location in Bihar." The rest of the cast has not been chosen yet and the director said that they are still working that out. "It should be finalised by the end of this month," he added. Mehta is also working on another biopic titled "Noor". It revolves around the life of legendary World War II spy, Noor Inayat Khan. IANS