Shreyas Talpade has been signed by Shirish Kunder for his in-production film Joker. The young actor would be playing Akshay Kumar's brother in the film which is all set to go on floors this year.
Confirms Shirish for whom Shreyas turned out to be natural choice for the role, "I had seen Shreyas quite closely when he was working in Farah's Om Shanti Om. It was remarkable that he played both the young as well as old part out there with aplomb. As Shah Rukh Khan's friend, he was a livewire in the first half of the film while in the second half he showed the required maturity as expected from an old man. That's the hallmark of a good actor. I was very impressed and when it came to someone being cast for the part of Akshay's brother, I had no hesitation signing Shreyas for the part."
For Shreyas too the film is a major leap as other than the Golmaal 3 and Golmaal Returns prior to that, he has been trapped in small or medium budgeted films. A film like Joker further brings him into the big league, a process that started with Om Shanti Om.
"Though Akshay Kumar is the central protagonist in the film, Shreyas has a very important part to play in the narrative as well", assures Shreyas, "If it wasn't, I could have roped in a lesser actor. However, when it comes to Shreyas, one does associate with him a role which is performance oriented."
Though not much is known about the plotline of Joker (which features Sonakshi Sinha opposite Akshay Kumar), there are indications of it being an entertainer to the core, something which the team promises. With this film, Farah Khan is now in charge of the production (in Tees Maar Khan, the husband and wife had swapped roles). She is currently finalising details on the location at which the film would be shot.
"Earlier we had planned for Malshej where we had shot for Tees Maar Khan. However, we wanted some dense fields on location as well, something that Malshej doesn't provide. We are closing on the alternative", says Farah.
Meanwhile another hunt is also on for finalising the leading lady opposite Shreyas. "Yes, the process is on but currently there isn't anyone on my short list. The space for a heroine is all wide open at the moment though we have to close it ASAP", declares Shirish.
