New film alert! Acclaimed Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is all set to headline Kabootar, the debut feature film of writer-director Ishan Sharma.
Set against the crumbling architecture and layered world of Old Delhi, Kabootar follows Mehboob, a street detective who secretly reads letters written to a Djinn in search of prospective clients. His path crosses with Naoko, a Japanese tourist carrying the weight of a painful past, and Ruby, a young child searching for his parents.
Produced by Nikhil Chaudhary of MDC Filmworks, the film is an India-France-Norway co-production, bringing together MDC Filmworks in India, Haiku Films in France, and Rein Film in Norway, with Rohit Saxena serving as co-producer on the Indian side.
Principal photography is scheduled to begin in Delhi in early 2027. The film promises a distinctive narrative that brings together eccentricity, emotional depth and the many contradictions of human experience, with Siddiqui stepping into a character that explores a new facet of his craft.
Speaking about casting Nawazuddin Siddiqui, producer Nikhil Chaudhary said, “Nawaz is an actor of extraordinary range. He can be dangerous in Gangs of Wasseypur and heartbreakingly gentle in The Lunchbox. He’s also one of the few Indian actors with a real international presence. His films have gone to Cannes multiple times, and he has been nominated for an International Emmy. For an India-France-Norway co-production, that matters enormously in taking Kabootar to audiences around the world. Just as important, he knows Delhi intimately. For Ishan and I, this film is a love letter to the city, and we needed an actor who could understand it, feel it and embody it. He does all three.”
For writer-director Ishan Sharma, Siddiqui’s association with the project brings a long-held creative aspiration to life. Sharma, who developed the script through the production and storytelling Workshop at the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, formerly known as the Produire au Sud Workshop, said, “Nawaz has been an invisible collaborator to a generation of young writers and directors, myself included. We write with his performances in our minds. From Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa to The Lunchbox, I’ve always admired the intensity and love he brings to a character, and his rare ability to move between hope and despair, light and dark, without losing either. Kabootar asks something of him that audiences haven’t seen before. To have him take that leap with us is a gift. I can’t wait to build this world with him.”
Casting director Dilip Shankar, whose credits include Life of Pi and Monsoon Wedding, added, “Nawazuddin will bring Mehboob’s eccentric humor, emotional depth and quiet vulnerability to life with rare authenticity. The character demands mischief, rage, tenderness and grace. With his rooted presence and remarkable nuance, Nawazuddin embodies Mehboob’s essential contradictions. His performance anchors ‘Kabootar’ in the lived-in, poignant texture of Old Delhi.”
Further strengthening its international outlook, Kabootar has been selected for several market showcases, including the Tasveer Film Market in Seattle, Film Bazaar in Goa, organised by India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), and the NFDC lineup at this year’s European Film Market in Berlin. Later this month, Chaudhary will pitch the film in the APN+ Track of the Asian Producers Network in Singapore.
With Siddiqui leading the cast, Kabootar brings together an internationally collaborative production and a story rooted in the distinctive character of Old Delhi, marking an intriguing new chapter in the actor’s evolving body of work. Watch this space for more!
