Akshay Kumar to use prosthetics for Neeraj Pandey's 'Rustom'

After collaborating on two films, Special 26 and Baby, Akshay Kumar and Neeraj Pandey are now coming together for a romantic-thriller, titled Rustom.

Based on real-life incidents, the film is written by Neeraj and Vipul Rawal and marks the directorial debut of Tinu Desai.

"We are constantly looking for new talent and Tinu Desai, who assisted Neeraj on Special 26, shares a great rapport with him and Akshay," informed Shital Bhatia, of Friday Filmworks, the production house co-producing the film along with Essel Vision and Kriarj Entertainment.

It's been a while since the makers decided the time was right for Tinu to turn director but he didn't have a good script in hand. When this script was finally locked, Akshay got busy wrapping up Raja Menon's actionthriller, Airlift, and Sajid Nadiadwala's Housefull 3.

"Once we had the final draft of Rustom ready, we knew it was an Akshay Kumar film and the right project for Tinu to debut with," Shital told Mirror. Next year, Akshay has locked both the 'patriotic' days, While Airlift releases on the Republic Day weekend (22nd January), Rustom opens on the 12th of August, the Independance Day weekend.

Shooting for the film starts early next year in UK and two young actresses will be cast opposite Khiladi Kumar. "The film is set in the late 1950's. Parts of it will be shot in Europe, India and across other international locations. The story demands the characters to travel across multiple countries," says Shital.

Meanwhile, costume designer Ameera Porwani has already begun work on Akshay's look, which will reflect the "flared pant, charcoal tie and cardigans of the era" and the actor will also use prosthetics for the role. "Akshay is undergoing a complete look change for Rustom. The script demands a new avatar, one that Akshay hasn't played before," adds the co-producer. Akshay confirmed the news saying, "Thrilled about my next project with Neeraj. Hope to get third time lucky."