Nawazuddin Siddiqui to play ‘desi’ Bond in his next film

Men want to be him and women want to be with him, goes a saying about the iconic spy character, James Bond. No surprises then that reel action heroes often turn to him for inspiration — like Nawazuddin Siddiqui did for his next, ‘Babumoshai Bandookbaaz’.

Set to play a suave sharpshooter in the action-drama, the actor binged on Bond movies to pick up his mannerisms. “When Kushan (Nandy, director) narrated the script to Nawaz, he felt his character was close to James Bond. Since he is a fan of the womanising, gambling-loving spy, he was kicked about adding a touch of suavity to his desi character,” says a unit hand.

In the poster of the film, Nawaz, clad in a ganjee and lungi, is seen carrying a water can in one hand,a transistor on his shoulder and a gun tucked in his lungi. How did he think of adding an element of sophistication a la Bond to such a rustic character?

Says Nawaz, “In terms of the clothes and styling, my part doesn’t have anything in common with him. Yet, I wanted to make it cool. I have tried imitating his gait, the way he holds his gun and scans an area from the corner of his eye. I felt referencing him would work for my character.”