Abhishek to play notorious conman

Abhishek Bachchan will play a conman in his next film about a notorious jewellery store heist.

The actor has been confirmed for the main role of Mohan Singh in Neeraj Pandey's Special Chabbis.

Sources told the Mumbai Mirror that Bachchan was cast because of his similar age and background to the real-life Singh.

Bachchan is now 33 and hails from Singh's hometown of Uttar Pradesh.

Director Pandey told the newspaper: "I can’t deny that Abhishek is on board but I want to get some other key members of the cast in place before I make a formal announcement.

"The film requires 26 actors and I want to make sure all of them are just right for their part."

Singh famously recruited 26 men to play income tax officers and take millions of pounds worth of jewellery from a Mumbai store in 1987.