Vicky Kaushal has been roped in to play the lead in Shoojit Sircar's next, a biopic on Udham Singh.

It is the story of a daring martyr who assassinated Michael O' Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of Punjab in pre-Independence India, to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919. Singh was subsequently tried and convicted of murder and hanged in July 1940.

The film will be produced by Ronnie Lahiri under the banner - Rising Sun Films.

On casting Vicky as Udham Singh, Shoojit said, "I have been waiting to tell the heroic tale of Shaheed Udham Singh for a very long time. It is a story very close to my heart. For it, I needed an actor who could give his heart and soul to the film, be with me and tell the story together. Vicky fits the bill perfectly. I have seen his work and the dedication he brings to it. I'm very happy he is on board this project."

Talking about Irrfan Khan, who was originally supposed to play the part, Shoojit said, "Irrfan and I have had a discussion on this. He is recovering well and is in a good mood. He wants to start work on films but for now, he would like to do a film that does not require the kind of strenuous physical action that this film would. He told me to move on since we have waited for long on this film. He and I are in touch and we are working on something else together."

Meanwhile, Vicky is super excited for the project and is looking forward to becoming Udham Singh and translating Shoojit's vision.

He said, "Since the time I started working as an actor in the industry, there was a wish list of the directors I wanted to work with. Shoojit sir was always on top of that list. So, it is like a dream come true that he is finally directing me. And, what better story than Udham Singh! I just feel that this is one person whose life story India should know and I am really excited for this journey to start."

Follow @News18Movies for more