Cinema

Ali Fazal to star in the psychological thriller The Underbug

Sharmistha Ghosal

Ali Fazal is on a roll now. For the past few years the actor is experimenting with many genres of cinema and this year too, he has an impressive slew of films lined up for release. And psychological thriller The Underbug directed by Shujaat Saudagar is definitely a genre-bending film. Starring Ali Fazal and Hussain Dalal in lead, the film has been officially selected for the upcoming edition of Slamdance Film Festival which is set to take place between January 20 and 26 in the US and virtually between January 23 and 29.

“It’s unlike any other film I have ever done in my career so far. The film was shot under confusing circumstances at a time in my life that was already a test of patience thanks to the pandemic. The hardest part was to gain all the weight and heaviness that was required for this character as the two characters are visually poles apart. It's harder to gain weight when you're fit. The script was a collaboration of sorts between the actors and the writers and our director," tells Ali.

The film was shot in late 2020 and is currently in the post-production stage. It was extensively shot in a house somewhere in the interiors of Maharashtra and is being speculated as a mind-bending psychological thriller around two individuals X and Y and their encounter with each other on Independence Day as they take refuge in an abandoned house. However, not all is okay when an eerie presence in that house haunts the men and drives them to the edge of their sanity. Fighting their own inner demons and the world outside, the situation puts them to a test of grit and will.