MUMBAI: Deepika Padukone, whose latest film Padmaavat, has broken box-office records, is reported to soon start working on her next film with acclaimed director Vishal Bhardwaj for a film on gangster Sapna Didi aka 80s Mafia Queen Ashraf Khan. The story is based upon one of the chapters of Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai.
The film, which will feature Irrfan Khan as Deepika’s onscreen husband, has been titled Rani, a report claimed.
However, a representative for Vishal Bhardwaj has refuted the claim and told Hindustan Times that the title has not been finalised yet.
Deepika has started her preparation for her role of a mafia queen and is quite particular that she gets the tonality and body language as close to the late Sapna Didi who was once a terror for other gangsters. Shooting is expected to begin by early March. After Padmaavat, it will be quite exciting to see her in a completely different attire and the actor is reportedly working meticulously to strike the right chord.
Initially, Honey Trehan was supposed to direct the film and Vishal was producing it. However, certain creative differences led to Vishal stepping in for the director’s job.
“Due to different artistic visions of the film, Honey (Trehan) and I jointly came to the decision that it would be best if I took over as director and saw it through to the end,” Bhardwaj said in a statement.
The upcoming film will be Deepika’s first venture with director Bhardwaj who is well-known for his films including Saat Khoon Maaf, Haider, Kaminey, Omkara and Maqbool.
On the other hand, Irrfan Khan has previously worked with Vishal in Maqbool and Saat Khoon Maaf and with Deepika in Piku.
