The biopic is Based on the life of Bal Thackeray, one of the most renowned cartoonists and the founder of political party Shiv Sena.
However, a few have begun questioning Siddiqui’s casting on communal and religious grounds.
A certain section of the society is dragging the film into the communal battle given how a Muslim man from UP is playing the role of the leader of a party that is always believed to follow anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and anti-UP tactics.
Reacting to the backlash, Nawaz said that people were becoming more narrow-minded. He also added neither did the Shiv Sena nor Sanjay Raut give him the role on the basis of his caste. They only considered his capabilities as an artist to portray the role of the party’s late supremo.
He went on and said that he is proud of who he is and he also said people should appreciate Shiv Sena for having a progressive approach in choosing him to play Balasaheb Thackeray irrespective of his religious background.
“Everyone’s reaction is going to be different because Balasaheb Thackeray was one such person. Everyone has their freedom of speech and expression, so they can go on..,” he said.
The movie is directed by Abhijit Panse and apart from Siddiqui, the movie also stars Amrita Rao in the lead role. She is playing the role of Thackeray’s wife Meenatai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGe_zgkjXMQ
Thackeray is all set to release on January 25, 2019.