Nawazuddin Siddiqui to Star as Old Delhi Street Detective in Kabootar
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is attached to lead Kabootar, a detective story set in Old Delhi, as reported by Variety. It is the debut feature, or first full-length cinema film, from writer-director Ishan Sharma. Cameras are scheduled to start rolling in Delhi in early 2027.
The story centres on Mehboob, a street detective who finds clients by secretly reading letters people have written to a Djinn. A Djinn is a spirit figure in South Asian and Middle Eastern folklore, often asked for help or protection. His habit pulls him toward two newcomers. They are Naoko, a Japanese tourist with a painful past, and Ruby, a young child searching for his parents.
Sharma is a graduate of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute. His earlier directing work includes the short films The God of Panic Street from 2019 and A Season of Mangoes from 2022. Casting director Dilip Shankar, whose credits include Life of Pi and Monsoon Wedding, is on board for Kabootar, according to Variety.
The film is produced by Nikhil Chaudhary of MDC Filmworks, with Rohit Saxena as co-producer on the Indian side. It is structured as a three-country co-production, an arrangement where companies in different countries share costs and rights, between MDC Filmworks in India, Haiku Films in France and Rein Film in Norway.
Sharma developed the script through the production and storytelling workshop at the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, formerly known as the Produire au Sud Workshop. Kabootar has since been selected for the Tasveer Film Market in Seattle, Film Bazaar in Goa and the NFDC lineup at the European Film Market in Berlin. Those are industry markets where unfinished films are shown to financiers, sales agents and distributors. Chaudhary will also pitch the project in the APN+ Track of the Asian Producers Network in Singapore.
Siddiqui received an International Emmy nomination for his lead role in the Netflix film Serious Men. For audiences, the pull here is the combination. A crowded Old Delhi neighbourhood. A detective who listens in on wishes meant for a spirit. And a small cast of lost people finding each other.
