Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Thackeray to release on 23 January 2019 commemorating Balasaheb's birth anniversary

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s upcoming film _Thackeray_ — based on the life and times of the Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray — is one of his most anticipated films in the offing. The makers of the film have finally revealed that Thackeray is slated to hit the screens on 23 January 2019, commemorating Balasaheb’s birth anniversary. Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter and revealed the film’s date of release:

Carnival Motion Pictures join hands with Sanjay Raut to co-produce #Thackeray... Stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui... Directed by Abhijit Panse... Produced by Sanjay Raut and Dr Shrikant Bhasi... Will release on Balasaheb’s birth anniversary - 23 Jan 2019. pic.twitter.com/XeEExLGlQd

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) July 18, 2018

This is the third biopic of Siddiqui after Ketan Mehta’s Manjhi and Nandita Das’ _Manto_ . “I will play Thackeray with the same honesty with which I have sought to play Manto,” said Nawazuddin earlier in an interview with Press Trust of India during the Cannes Film Festival in 2018. “There is a lot that an actor can do with the character of Thackeray. He was an artist, a cartoonist, who gave up his calling to lead the Marathi manoos like no personality [sic] has ever had in any state,” he added. Thackeray has been reportedly shot in Hindi, Marathi, and dubbed in English. It is co-produced by journalist and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut along with Carnival Motion Pictures and will be directed by Abhijit Panse. Siddiqui is undoubtedly a powerhouse performer who, over the years, has amazed audiences and critics alike with his inimitable acting prowess. Be it Faizal Khan from Gangs of Wasseypur, Shaikh in The Lunchbox, Dashrath Manjhi in Manjhi - The Mountain Man, Ramanna in Raman Raghav 2.0 or, more recently, Ganesh Gaitonde in Netflix’s _Sacred Games_ .