Mumbai, Oct 17, 2022, IANS

Mumbai, Oct 17 (IANS) Popular actress Ridhi Dogra, who is known for her work in television and the streaming series 'Asur', is set to make her Bollywood debut with the upcoming film 'Lakadbaggha'. The story is about an ordinary boy on an extraordinary mission - to fight against illegal animal trade industry.

The teaser poster of the film was unveiled recently and has a pop vibe to it with its physical setting in the city of Kolkata.

Talking about the project, Ridhi said in a statement: "This film is special at many levels. At the heart of it is the story. Not everyday you see a film that has a good mix of content with masala. This film delves into the plight of animals and their welfare. That instantly made me want to do it as my bollywood debut. Second thing was the action and the character I got to play.

The film, directed by Victor Mukherjee also stars Anshuman Jha, who for six months trained in Krav-Maga for his part in the story.

Lauding Anshuman's passion for the project, Ridhi further mentioned: "I definitely wanted to do something different than the characters I've played on the web - for a first film and this film and my part in it gave me that experience. I have always chosen my projects based on the team. Anshuman's choice and his passion for animals and the stellar international team at work, I wanted to be a part of the story from the very first reading."

"Anshuman is just so clear and incredibly planned in how he wanted to take the process of the film - his precision and clarity is a joy as an actor for me and rubs off on the team," she added.

Additionally, the film also stars the ladies man, Milind Soman, and Paresh Pahuja. Written by Alok Sharma, the film will unravel the story of an animal loving vigilante Arjun Bakshi, who while trying to protect his adopted Indian stray dogs, unearths the fact that an underground illegal animal trade cell functions from Kolkata port.

On investigating, he chances upon a rare species of the Indian Striped Hyena (Lakadbaggha) - which has been kidnapped from Corbett National Park and is being sold in the black market.

Anshuman, who leads the film, also went to New York to train under Tsahi Shemesh (the trainer of the 'Avengers' team-Falcon and 'The Winter Soldier').

The actor said that being an animal lover himself, the movie is quite close to his heart. "Animals and action films are two of my biggest passions. After playing a gay man in 'Hum Bhi Akele, Tum Bhi Akele', I wanted to do something high octane but pure. I have given more than a year of my life in training, shooting and trying to be authentic towards the 'Hand-To-Hand' martial arts form this movie brings to India 'Krav-Maga' - its just raw street fight style action."

'Lakadbaggha' is produced by First Ray Films and presented by Golden Ratio Films.