Sidharth Malhotra takes on dwarf Riteish Deshmukh in Marjaavaan first look posters

Shah Rukh Khan's inability to tell a dwarf's tale has not bothered Milap Zaveri at all. The filmmaker released the first look of his upcoming film, Marjaavaan (2019), with Riteish Deshmukh taking on the mantle of a desi Tyrion Lannister going up against Sidharth Malhotra's angry lover.

The first look poster features the profiles of Sidharth Malhotra and Riteish Deshmukh facing off in the background, while a menacing dwarf Deshmukh walking to battle with a gun in the foreground. This is the first time Deshmukh is playing a character impaired by his height in a film. 

In contrast, Sidharth Malhotra's poster features him putting up a heroic front with his posture. The looming Ravana effigy in the background offers context to the nature of the battle between the two. 

Although it was Shah Rukh Khan who played the dwarf earlier in Aanand L Rai's Zero (2018), the character for Milap Zaveri's film was written earlier. In 2018, the director said, "I had decided this from the start only when I started writing the script. I had written the character two or two-and-a-half years ago when Shah Rukh sir had not even started Zero. But I didn’t make a film on that script. I made Satyameva Jayate (2018) before and now we have decided to make this one." 

Marjaavaan will also feature Tara Sutaria and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead role opposite the two actors. This will be Sutaria's second feature after her debut in Student Of The Year 2 (2019) earlier this year. 

The film's release date has also been pushed to 22 November, from its earlier date of 2 October. The postponement has helped the film avoid a clash with the Tiger Shroff-Hrithik Roshan action thriller War (2019), and the Chiranjeevi-led multi-lingual period epic, Syeraa Narasimha Reddy (2019). 

Marjaavaan is jointly produced by T-Series, Nikkhil Advani, and Milap Zaveri. It is set for a theatrical release on 22 November.