Ajay Devgn-starrer Syed Abdul Rahim biopic will mark the debut of South Indian actor Keerthy Suresh in Bollywood. She will play his wife in the movie directed by Amit Sharma of Badhaai Ho fame.

According to Mumbai Mirror, the actor said that she loves to take up challenging roles. "Syed Abdul Rahim's story is a forgotten chapter in Indian history and I am glad that the makers are telling it through a film," she is quoted as saying.

In the movie, Ajay will be essaying the role of Syed Abdul Rahim, who is India's forgotten hero in football. He was a coach and manager of the national football team and his tenure is considered as the golden age of Indian football.

 

In an official statement, Keerthy said, "I'm elated and honoured to be a part of such a great story. This film is a forgotten chapter in the Indian history and I am glad that the makers have chosen to tell this story. This is a film that will make each and every Indian proud."

"I believe this is a story that doesn't belong to any specific region or language of India but is a great Indian story that the world should know. With all my past films, I have consciously chosen to do roles that challenge me and add to the narrative of the film. When the makers came to me with this role, I was quite intrigued by it and felt that I would be able to pull it off.

"Ajay Devgn is one of the most talented superstars that we have in our country. I have seen a lot of his films and it is an honour for me to share screen space with an actor of his calibre," she added.

 

Boney Kapoor produces the film along with Akash Chawla and Arunava Joy Sengupta. Boney is currently busy in producing Ajith Kumar's upcoming movie.

Talking about the project, Boney said: "It is also a conservative love story which focuses on the couple's life after marriage. Keerthy is one of the most successful actresses in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema. Her presence would give us an enhanced reach in the southern belt. It is not being planned as a bilingual but as a Hindi feature film.

"It is a fabulous story with a pan-India reach, and has the potential to be one of the biggest films that will break the language barrier."

The makers have planned to shoot the movie in Rome, Jakarta and Melbourne apart from shooting in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow.

(Inputs from News Agency)