Milind Soman is not playing Raj Thackeray in ‘Nagrik’

While Milind Soman is known more for his philanthropic initiatives, there is much buzz about him and the character he plays in��the upcoming biopic, based on the life and death of crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey, ‘Nagrik’.��Rumors says that his character is based on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, but Soman refutes this.

Soman told Mumbai Mirror, “Raj lives a minute away from me. He is practically my neighbor. I play a politician, yes, and if there is any similarity between Raj and my character it’s only because of our schooling, upbringing, a particular political ambition and of course, my look in the film.”

‘Nagrik’ is also not Soman’s Bollywood comeback. He stated, “Just four months ago, I worked in a Marathi film, Astu, about a retired Sanskrit professor suffering from Alzheimer’s who goes missing while travelling with his daughter. But no one talked about the film or wrote about it. But the makers of Nagrik are leaving no stone unturned to promote their film and I’ve now come to understand how important and difficult publicity is.”

Soman will also be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’ and when asked about his ‘villainous’ role in the film, he said, “The rumors that I am playing the ‘big villain’ are completely incorrect. It’s a unique character, that of a fun-loving Maratha warrior. Honestly, in��a love story about two lovers how much of a role can a third wheel have.”

Soman first came into the limelight with Alisha Chinai’s music video ‘Made in India’ (1996).