Ananya Panday to star alongside Akshay Kumar in Karan Johar's The Untold Story of C. Sankaran Nair?

The film tells the story of Sankaran Nair's legendary courtroom battle with the British Raj to find the truth about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

Ananya Panday; Akshay Kumar/Instagram

While Karan Johar is promoting Jugjugg Jeeyo his production company has started work on a biopic of C. Sankaran Nair. The Untold Story of C. Sankaran Nair will be a courtroom drama directed by newcomer Karan Singh Tyagi. Whereas Akshay Kumar has been cast to play the late lawyer-activist, it is now being said that the filmmakers are in negotiations with Ananya Panday to play a key role.

In 1915, Nair was a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council, but after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919, he resigned. The drama will follow a lawyer's battle against the British Raj to uncover Punjab Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dwyer's complicity in the slaughter, based on Raghu and Pushpa Palat's book The Case That Shook the Empire.

This film tells the story of Sankaran Nair's legendary courtroom battle with the British Raj to find the truth about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Sankaran Nair's bravery sparked the country's freedom struggle and is a tribute to the power of standing up for what is right.

A source told Mid Day that Ananya will play a fiery junior lawyer in the film. She hasn't signed the dotted line yet, but word on the street is that she's been cast. Akshay is set to start shooting the film after completing a portion of the Soorarai Pottru remake.

Meanwhile, in Amaravathi in 1897, C. Sankaran Nair was the president of the Indian National Congress. He resigned from the Viceroy's Executive Council after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, describing himself as a constitutionalist within the national movement. He travelled to England to assure them that there would never be another Jallianwala Bagh in India. Michael O'Dwyer sued him for libel when he stated in his book that he was responsible for the atrocity. In an 11 to 1 jury ruling, O'Dwyer won the case, with only political economist Harold Laski dissenting.

According to reports, O'Dwyer claimed he would waive the £7,000 damages if Nair apologised, which he refused to do despite the enormous payment.

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