Mumbai, Mar 23: Consummate actor Naseeruddin Shah and his younger son Vivaan will be sharing screen space for the first time in a film based on the life and times of smuggler Haji Mastaan, says a media report.
Both were part of Vishal Bharadwaj's Saat Khoon Maaf but never shared screen space.
Producer Sunil Bohra's Mastaan, is a film based on yesteryear gangster Haji Mastaan. While Vivaan will essay the young Haji Mastaan, Naseer plays another known gangster from the time of Karim Lala. Mastaan will have these two going separate ways with critical dramatic scenes between father and son.
The report quotes a source close to the project: "During Saat Khoon Maaf, Naseer wouldn't be around on location when Vivaan was facing the camera.
"He didn't want to put Vivaan under pressure of having to perform with his dad so early in his career.
"With Mastaan too, he hesitated at first but then came around. The two roles are so powerfully written that Naseer was confident his boy would stand up to him quite well."
Another first for the film is that it will be directed by debutant director Rocky Khanna.
Says Bohra : " The only thing I knew about Rocky Khanna was that he had written the lyrics of Main Meri Patni Aur Woh.
"I had no clue he could write a script or direct a film. But when I heard the script of Mastaan, I was blown away. There have been many films about gangsters and the underworld but this one is something else."
"Rocky was clear. If we didn't get Naseer Saab and his son, we wouldn't make the film. Luckily, they both agreed," Bohra said.
Meanwhile, Vivaan has been asked not to watch Big B in Deewar or Ajay Devgn in Once Upon A Time in Mumbai ,possibly because both actors have essayed roles inspired by Mastaan.
The Rs 20 crore Mastaan, set in the eighties, will go on floors in May. Mastaan also marks a new beginning for singer Mohit Chouhan, who turns music composer with this film.
