Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the role of Delhi street detective in "Pigeon" (special)

Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui stars in Kabootar, writer-director Ishaan Sharma's feature film debut, produced by Nikhil Chaudhary of MDC Filmworks. The film is made as a co-production between MDC Filmworks in India, Haiku Films in France and Rein Film in Norway, with Rohit Saxena serving as co-producer on the Indian side. The main […]

Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in the lead role in Pigeon, the debut film from writer-director Ishaan Sharma, produced by Nikhil Chaudhary of MDC Filmworks.

Set against the crumbling architecture of Old Delhi, Kabootar centers on Mehboob, a street detective who secretly reads letters written to a genie in search of potential clients. His path crosses that of Naoko, a Japanese tourist carrying the weight of a painful past, and Ruby, a young child searching for her parents. Popular in Variety

Siddiqui is one of the most proud actors of his generation in Indian cinema. He appeared in Anurag Kashyap's 'Dar and Bunch Wasipur', Reete Batra's 'Lunchbox' and Nandita Das' 'Manto' - all of which premiered at Cannes - and starred in the Netflix thriller 'Sacred Games'. He was nominated for an International Emmy Award for his role in Netflix's "Serious Men."

Chaudhary said: "Nawaz is an actor of extraordinary range. He can be dangerous in 'The Gangs of Wasseypur' and heartbreakingly kind in 'The Lunch Box'. He is also one of the few Indian actors who has a real international presence. His films have been to the Cannes Film Festival several times and have been nominated for an International Emmy Award, an international co-production in France. As intimately as he knows Delhi for me and Ishan, in the transfer "'Pigeon' is very important to audiences around the world, and we needed an actor who could understand that and embody that. He does all three."

Sharma, who developed the script through a production and story-writing workshop at the 3 Continents festival in Nantes – formerly known as the Produire au Sud workshop – added: “Nawaz has been an invisible colleague to a generation of young writers and directors, including myself. We write with his performances in our minds. From 'Anwar Ka Ajab Kisa' to 'Lunchbox', I have always admired the intensity and love he brings to a character, and his rare ability to move between hope and despair, light and darkness, without missing a beat. "Dove" asks him something the audience has never seen before. That he has this leap with us is a gift. I can't wait to build this world with him."

The project has been selected for a series of international showcases including Tasveer Film Market in Seattle, Film Market in Goa - organized by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) - and NFDC's collection at this year's European Film Market in Berlin. Later this month, Chaudhary will screen the film on Asian Producers Network's APN+ in Singapore.

The actor's director Dilip Shankar, whose films include Life of Pi and Monsoon Wedding, said, “Nawazuddin brings the quirky humor, emotional depth and quiet vulnerability of the beloved to life with rare authenticity. Character needs mischief, anger, tenderness and grace. Nawazuddin, with his rooted presence and striking subtleties, embodies the essential popular contradictions of his performance of 'Kabootar' in the lived-in and admirable context of Old Delhi."

Sharma is a graduate of the Satyajit Ray Institute of Film and Television. His short films "The God of Horror Street" (2019) and "A Season of Mango" (2022) have participated in international festivals and have received numerous awards, including the Cinema Experimenta Award.

MDC Filmworks has already produced five films, including Sanjoy Nag's Really You, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, and Rajat Kapoor's dark comedy Kadakh, which premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and won Best Screenplay. Haiku Films, founded by Thomas Jaeger, Antoine Delhous and Claire Trinke, produced Fay (Grand Prix, San Sebastián 2022) and produced The Treasure (Berlinale 2024). Founded by Mathis Stahl Matthiessen and Alexandre Olay Coursens, Rein is known for My Father's Daughter (Toronto 2024).

The key crew includes Udit Khurana ("Baayan", "Gath"), sound designer ("Mother", "Night Burger") and casting director Sethu Venugopal.

"Kabootar" is curated by CineV, Nina Lath Gupta's platform that connects projects with investors and funders.