Rajkummar Rao wraps up Vikramaditya Motwane's next

Actor has wrapped up Vikramaditya Motwane's untitled next, also featuring another National Award winner.

Mirror (October 21, 2015) was the first to report that Vikramaditya Motwane had quietly kickstarted a film with Rajkummar Rao as the protagonist and it was being shot in homes, offices and even on the streets of Mumbai, where it is based, without anyone in the know. A significant portion of the film was wrapped up in October during a 20-day schedule with just three-four days of work left which was completed last Saturday. The still untitled film, which is about life and relationships, is currently being edited. 

According to a source close to the development Rajkummar plays a character called Shaurya who could be your guy-next-door. "It's the story of survival and finding oneself in the most adverse of circumstances. Raj has reinvented himself several times in the past for a role, be it Shahid or CityLights, but in this case he undergoes a physical transformation too in the course of the film. It's a believable world and a character whose struggles are easy to relate to," says the source. 

While most of the other actors are not known faces, Rajkummar's lady love is Geetanjali Thapa, who bagged the National Award for Best Actress in 2014 for her performance in Liar's Dice. She played Kamala, a woman from the tribal community, with a precocious three-year-old daughter who goes in search of her missing husband, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Interestingly, Rajkummar won the National Award for Best Actor the same year for Shahid. "The film is Shaurya's journey through the Maximum City. There are very few characters and actors on this canvas," adds the source. 

When Mirror reached out to the actor, he was tight-lipped on the project, only admitting that it was exciting working with the Lootera director and it was by far one of his most challenging roles. He was more forthcoming about having moved into a three-bedroom apartment in Andheri. "I've a number of friends living there and liked the complex. I'd been looking for a home in the city and I was sure this was where I'd like to come back to at the end of the day. I've moved in but renovations continue. It's a work in progress because I've been busy with shoots and promotions. But like one of my recent characters, I've found myself and a home in this city," he smiles. 

Meanwhile, at around 8.30 pm on Saturday, Raj posted a selfie, saying, "Bye bye beard. You'll be missed. We shall meet up soon." When quizzed on the clean shave and the cryptic statement, he simply smiled enigmatically.