MUMBAI:  Popular and versatile Indian actor Makarand Deshpande is all set to return to TV screens after approximately 20 long years. The 52-year-old might soon be seen playing the mythical character of Betaal.

Peninsula Pictures are coming up with the TV adaptation of Betaal Pachisi. TellyChakkar has exclusive information that Deshpande is almost finalized to play Betaal's character.

Although the actor hasn't signed the dotted lines, a little birdie confirms that he is most likely to do that soon. If this happens, it will be Deshpande's return to the TV's space after a long time, as he was last seen in fictional TV drama Sailaab, which concluded in 1998. In 2010, the Fukrey Returns actor was a judge in a Marathi reality series: Marathi Paul Padate Pudhe.

Subsequently, the thespian has been busy with his theatre and movie work. Recently, he completed 50 short plays, a record for him. The talented actor cum director has worked across Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema.

What do you think of Makarand Deshpande?

As per our sources, popular actors like Vijay Raaz and Praneet Bhatt were also strong contenders to be Betaal. However, it seems things fell right into place for the Swades and Makdee fame actor. With Makarand's looks, one can easily imagine him as the iconic character.

We tried contacting Peninsula's producers Nissar Parvez and Alind Srivastava, however, they didn't respond to our calls. On the other hand, Makarand said, "Nothing is finalized right now, so I can't really comment."

The hunt for the role of Vikram is still on.

Titled Vikram Betaal, the weekly will air on &TV.

Stay tuned to TellyChakkar for more exclusive updates.