He is the Bad Man of Bollywood. He doesn’t mind that either. And it seems the image is turning out to be a blessing for actor Gulshan Grover. Now, Gulshan will be one of the characters in a comic book Nephilim to be published by Los Angeles-based Marsh Hawk Productions. The comic book is created and directed by Danny Wilson and produced by Susan Moses.
Nephilim will be first published as a comic book and later turned into a full-fledged action film — a first for Grover in the sense that this is the first time an Indian actor has been chosen to be a character in a comic book Grover plays the bad guy Azazel in the film and the comic character has been designed in keeping with Grover’s features in mind.
“It’s a first of a kind because an actor’s face is chosen as a character in a comic book. In various other comic books, they first create characters and then they are played by actors in the celluloid version. But in this case, it is my personality that has been turned into a comic character and then it would be a live action film,” says Grover when Hindustan Times caught up on his mobile.
Grover’s character is called Azazel in the film and he plays the evil as expected. But why Grover?
“Because he has a universal demographic appeal. We wanted to introduce a powerful Indian character and he was the best choice. He's also a known name in the Western market. His performance in Hollywood film like Jungle Book II is loved by the Western audiences, " says producer Susan Moses in a statement.
Incidentally, Grover was also in the contention to be the villain in the last James Bond release Casino Royale directed by Martin Campbell, but missed out later. The latest international film he has done is Roger Christian’s Prisoners of the Sun.
Grover’s character is called Azazel in the film and he plays the evil as expected. But why Grover?
“Because he has a universal demographic appeal. We wanted to introduce a powerful Indian character and he was the best choice. He's also a known name in the Western market. His performance in Hollywood film like Jungle Book II is loved by the Western audiences, " says producer Susan Moses in a statement.
Incidentally, Grover was also in the contention to be the villain in the last James Bond release Casino Royale directed by Martin Campbell, but missed out later. The latest international film he has done is Roger Christian’s Prisoners of the Sun.
The comic book will be out in a month’s time, informs Grover and shooting of the film budgeted at around 50 million dollars will start early next year.
“It is slated to shot in US, Bulgaria, Rumania and other places. It has that medieval look,” says Grover. Elaborating on the character, Grover says that it is not a typical Indian villain though.
Hopefully, the disappointment for missing out on Casino Royale has been compensated with this project, we ask him. “No not really. A James Bond film has its own charm. One day the gentleman villain that I have been talking about in a James Bond film will be introduced by me. But yes, Nephilim is really a big one for me,” says Grover.