After working on Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab (2016) and co-producing for Konkona Sen Sharma’s A Death in the Gunj (2017), besides casting for Nandita Das’s upcoming Manto, Honey Trehan had revealed earlier this year that he was most excited about his own film which was in the works. “It’s been written by Vishal sir... I am directing it, and it stars Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan. Hopefully, we’ll start shooting in January next year,” he had stated.
The film will shoot alright - only Honey Trehan is out of the picture. In a sudden change of plan, Vishal Bhardwaj has stepped in as director of the yet untitled Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan-starrer, to be produced by KriArj Entertainment and Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures.
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“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,” reads Vishal’s statement. Trehan is equally brief as he states, “Owing to our differences in creative understanding, we have mutually and amicably decided that it would be best for our film if Vishal sir took over as director.” Producer Prernaa Arora of KriArj Entertainment also adds to the general consensus, saying she respects the decision, which is only meant for the “betterment of the film”. There is apparently no bad blood here as Trehan will direct another project in the near future, produced by Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures and KriArj Entertainment.
The film, a thriller, is said to be based on journalist S Hussain Zaidi's novel, 'Mafia Queens Of Mumbai'. Deepika will apparently essay the role of gangster Rahima Khan, popularly known as Sapna Didi. The film, which is pegged to release in October 2018, revolves around how she plots to kill underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who is responsible for the death of her husband. The daring Rahima eventually meets her untimely end when the underworld don learns of her plans.
The film will see Irrfan and Deepika pairing up for the second time after Shoojit Sircar’s romantic drama Piku. And it does seem like a cracker of a film already!
