Navjot Singh Sidhu to work in a Kannada film

Bangalore: Well-known cricketer-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu is set to play himself in the Kannada film Houseful, a full length comedy. Director Hemanth Hegde says Sidhu's cameo will be the highlight of the movie.

"Sidhu sir is playing himself in the film. Houseful is a full length comedy and he fits into our scheme of things. We have designed a special type of sequence for him. And he will mouth his dialogues in Kannada as well as in Hindi. That one sequence will be the highlight of the film," Hegde said.

Sidhu will have to shoot only for a day in Bangalore and he will be paid Rs 5 lakh for the cameo.

Hegde too plays an important role in the film with Diganth. The pranks of these two youngsters and their love life forms the base of the story.

Girija Oak, who was seen in Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par, and Bollywood actress Vishaka Singh are playing female leads.

Hegde, who made his directorial debut with Oo Lala, has directed three Kannada films and a Hindi film titled Khanna and Iyer.

Hegde has finished two schedules of the film in Mysore and Bangalore.

"Some portions of the film will be shot in Goa. We wanted to shoot some portions of the film in Kashmir, but it looks it may not be possible with the kind of situation that exists there. We hope to move over to Sikkim and shoot there," said Hegde.

Hegde also hopes to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by using a 60 ft-tall statue of Charlie Chaplin in the film. He claims this will be the tallest statue of the English comedian.

"There is no statue of Chaplin of that height and the Guinness authorities have confirmed it. We will be using it in a sequence that will be shot in St. Thomas Mount at Mangalore beach," says Hegde.

Chethan, the art director of the film, said: "I am using many art students trained in art schools in Mysore. I can not say how much the statue may cost us, but it would be a wonderful effort because many budding artists would be involved in the project."

Lokanath, Milind Gunaji, Avatar Gill, Ramesh Bhat, and Bullet Prakash will also feature in the movie.