Producer Anju Patwa at the film’s news meet. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Sept. 5: Bhojpuri star Manoj Tiwari is all set to play the role of Veer Kunwar Singh in a film based on the life of the great warrior.

The launching of film — Veer Kunwar Singh, Rising 1857 — was formally announced at a news meet in the city on Saturday.

“Veer Kunwar Singh will be made both in Hindi and Bhojpuri. This film will be based on the life of great warrior Kunwar Singh who was one of the few kings who fought against the British and remained undefeated till his death,” said the director of the movie, Ravi K. Patwa.

Kunwar Singh (1777-1858), was the king of Jagdishpur, currently a part of Bhojpur district.

The film is being made under the banner of Atharva Arts and will be produced by Anju R. Patwa. This movie will be shot at various locations across Bihar, like, Patna, Ara and Patna city, said the producer.

Director Ravi K. Patwa said: “Manoj Tiwari will play the role of Veer Kunwar Singh and Gracy Singh will play the role of the king’s wife Sulakshana. Jackie Shroff will play the role of Peer Ali who too was a great warrior and freedom fighter of 1857 uprising and childhood friend of Kunwar Singh. He was hanged by the Britishers at Gandhi Maidan in Patna,” said the director.

“Jyoti Kalash will play the role of Veer Amar Singh, younger brother of Kunwar Singh. Mukesh Tiwari will play the role of Hari Kishan Singh, the general of the king, Sudhir Dalvi will play Basuriya Baba, the guru of the king, Mukesh Rishi will play Tulsi Prasad, the deputy-general of the king,” said Patwa.

The director said the film will also focus on the life of Dharman Bibi, a poetess and dancer from Ara and also a brave warrior who played a significant role in construction of two mosques — at Ara and another at Jagdishpur, said Patwa.

“The shooting of the film will start on October 30. Most part of the film will be shot at Ara and Patna. Later, some scenes will be shot at Ramoji Rao Film City in Hyderabad and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The cinematographer of the film is Ishwar Bidri, choreographer Bosco and screenplay and dialogues are by D. Mishra, said the director.

“Thirty per cent shooting of the film is complete and the recordings of all the six songs of the film are done. The total duration of the film will be 2 hours and 50 minutes and the production cost will come to around Rs 10 crore,” said the producer.

“Before starting this film I did a lot of research and also took the help of the British library. I was inspired from Veer Kunwar Singh since my childhood,” said the director.