MUMBAI: Acclaimed actor Pankaj Tripathi, who normally portrays the guy next door or essays shades of grey, is all set to play a South Indian superstar next. He says he enjoyed his makeover as a flamboyant celebrity.

Talking about his role, Pankaj described his character of Saleem as "unpredictable".

"I am playing a clean and flamboyantly dressed superstar named Saleem, who has the superstardom of a hero. He is either unpredictable or tries to do a performance of unpredictability. He is a superstar who acts on screen and off screen. I had fun," Pankaj said. 

Pankaj will be seen essaying Saleem in Indrajit Lankesh's film Shakeela, featuring Richa Chadha as the sultry actress from Kerala who acted in several adult films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The film is set to release this Christmas on December 25.