Sushant Singh Rajput has shared a glimpse of himself in costume for his upcoming Abhishek Chaubey directorial – and it is winning whistles galore. The actor will be playing a dacoit in the film, titled Sonchiriya. He looked the part completely, rough and tough in khaki shirt and trousers, a belt of bullets circling his shoulder and a rifle nestling close to him. In fact, it takes you a second to confirm that it is indeed Sushant – he is almost unrecognizable with a full-grown moustache and thick unkempt beard!

The actor will be playing a Chambal dacoit in the film which is set in the 1970s. The story of Sonchiriya is reportedly inspired by the various myths and stories associated with Chambal. Also on board for the film are Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee and Ashutosh Rana. The film went on the floors last week in Chambal, which were the Badlands where dacoits once lived and plundered at will.

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All gung-ho about his role which will see him essay a dacoit for the first time, Sushant had apparently left for the location before the rest of the cast. Since January 12, he has been on location getting into the skin of his character, and even spending time with a few former dacoits. Ever the method actor, he had also put efforts into losing muscle in order to nail the rustic look. And yes, learning to shoot a rifle was also an important part of his prep.

With Abhishek Chaubey at the helm of this film, expectations are naturally high. Known for his gritty cinema, he has given Hindi cinema some of its most interesting films including Ishqiya and Dedh Ishqiya. It was his 2016 directorial, Udta Punjab which really made the country sit up, as it dealt with the drug problems in the state of Punjab. The Alia Bhatt-Shahid Kapoor starrer had won critical acclaim as well as box office success on its release.
Bring it on, Chaubey. It has been a while since we last enjoyed a bit of gunshot and deception!