MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Nandita Das says that she is all set to begin work on upcoming film Manto from next month and says the movie is a “very big project” for her.

“The work is going on in full swing. We are going on floors from March 15, so there’s a lot of work. It’s a very big project for me. It’s a period film, we will recreate 1940s here,” she told reporters at the book launch of The First Storyteller by Varun Gwalani.

The biopic stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role of the celebrated writer Saadat Hasan Manto. Nandita says apart from the Raees actor, prominent names from the industry will be joining the project.

“Nawazuddin is the lead but we have a lot of prominent names supporting the film, I am very fortunate. They are ready to do even small roles, all of the names will be out soon. I hope you’ll watch the film.”

The filmmaker says the team is aiming to wrap up the shoot of the film soon as they don’t have the budget of a big Bollywood movie.

“It is an independent film, not a typical Bollywood song and dance film. We don’t have a big budget so we can’t stretch it (the shooting) till 200 days. We will try to shoot it as fast as we can, in a very efficient way.”

Nandita, however, did not reveal who has replaced Om Puri in the film, as the actor passed away earlier this year, before starting the film.