This year has proved to be a very busy year for Newton actor Pankaj Tripathi. With four projects released and a few in the pipeline, Pankaj is now set to start work on his upcoming film, the Shakeela Khan biopic.

It was earlier reported that Pankaj has been roped in for the biopic, but the clarity on his role wasn’t out. Now it’s been confirmed that the actor will be playing the role of a south film actor from the 90s and for that he has been studying his character’s essence rather minutely. 

Based on the 80s Malayalam film actress Shakeela, the film will see Richa Chadha in the titular role. It will depict the life of the actress spanning from her young days to becoming a nation wide phenomena as an adult actress in the late 90's. The film is being helmed by acclaimed director, Indrajit Lankesh.

While Richa has already begun shooting for the film, Pankaj will join the team by end of August in Karnataka.  Speaking about being a part of the film, Pankaj said, “I am delighted to be a part of this biopic. It talks about the life of Shakeela that people need to hear and my character is someone who is her friend and also an actor. It is amazing — all the stories, anecdotes and incidents that have happened in her life. Glad, I could be part of this film.”