Saif Ali Khan to play Naga sadhu in Navdeep Singh’s upcoming period revenge drama Hunter

After receiving glowing reviews for his performance as police officer Sartaj Singh in Sacred Games , Saif Ali Khan will be seen essaying the role of a Naga sadhu in Hunter, Navdeep Singh’s tentatively titled tale of revenge.

Saif, who has grown his hair and beard for the film, revealed in an interview with the Times of India, “My character is a failed Naga sadhu, who has strong notions of revenge… I even got my ears pierced for the role, which I was worried about initially. My hair has grown a lot. It bothered me throughout summer, when I was shooting in Rajasthan’s sweltering heat. It took me 40 minutes to two hours sometimes to just get into hair and makeup for the part.”

Saif calls his character, “an animal at heart — a flat-footed wild fellow.” A revenge drama set in Rajasthan, Saif had to train as a swordsman. He says he needed strong self-belief to play such a character noting how some roles require you to make changes, which make you forget your true self.

Previous reports said that Saif will be playing a Pathan in the film.

Navdeep Singh, who directed Manorama: Six Feet Under (2007) and NH10 (2015), has also roped in Mukkabaaz actress Zoya Hussain for the film.

However, R Madhavan had to opt out of the project following his shoulder surgery after he injured himself in the gym. The audience was especially looking forward to the film as it marked a potential reunion between the Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein co-stars after 17 years.