Anurag Kashyap makes Telugu acting debut with Adivi Sesh's 'Dacoit'

After dabbling in Tamil and Malayalam-language films, Anurag Kashyap is expanding his acting horizons with an upcoming Telugu-Hindi bilingual titled Dacoit - Ek Prem Katha, starring Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur.

Billed as an action thriller, the film has debutant Shaneil Deo directing from a script he co-wrote with Adivi Sesh. Supriya Yarlagadda is jointly producing the film with Suniel Narang.

As per the official logline, Dacoit revolves around a man with a criminal past looking to settle scores with an ex-girlfriend who seemingly betrayed him.

According to a report in Variety, Anurag Kashyap plays a "sharp-minded, witty and sarcastic" police officer — "a fearless inspector characterised as a devout follower of the Hindi God Ayyapa with zero tolerance for corruption."

On his experience, Kashyap says the role is "both fun and challenging".

"The conundrums of duty versus dharma, and to go about doing his job with a dry sense of humour is fantastic. I am truly looking forward to playing this character in two languages, shooting in Hindi, as well as in Telugu. To get the same impact in both languages is the challenging part, something I am thoroughly enjoying," added the Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker.

Kashyap, who was last seen as the antagonist in Malayalam filmmaker Aashiq Abu's Rifle Club opposite fellow filmmaker Dileesh Pothan's protagonist, is also noted for his penchant for playing complex negative characters in other South Indian films, the most recent example being Maharaja, with Vijay Sethupathi.

He has previously played cops in the Sonakshi Sinha-AR Muruagdoss film Akira and the thriller series Bad Cop.