Deepika Padukone and Irrfan’s film not based on Sapna Didi: Vishal Bhardwaj

Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan created magic on screen with Shoojit Sircar’s 2015 film Piku. This unconventional jodi made its way to the hearts of the audience with stellar performances and endearing chemistry. And now three years later, Deepika and Irrfan are set to reunite, courtesy Vishal Bhardwaj.

It was in April last year that the filmmaker announced the project, but Irrfan and Deepika are yet to begin shooting for the film. While Deepika was busy with Padmaavat, Irrfan had his own work commitments. However, the fans will have to wait a little longer to see this mind-blowing jodi on the big screen as the shooting of the film has been pushed by a few months.

Vishal took to Facebook to make the announcement. He revealed that Irrfan is down with jaundice. Deepika’s back problem, on the other hand, has resurfaced after Padmaavat, and that’s why there will be a delay in the project.

He wrote, “I am pushing back the film by a few months as both of my lead actors are down with different health problems. Irrfan is down with jaundice and it will take him a few weeks to recover and Deepika Padukone’s back problem which had previously developed during the shooting of Padmaavat has now resurfaced.”

He added that since the film is physically demanding, he wants his lead actors to recover fully.

Bhardwaj revealed that he’s quite happy with the look tests of Deepika and Irrfan, and the preparation transported him back to Maqbool days. “Deepika and Irrfan’s look tests have come out exceptionally well, nothing like you’ve seen before, and it took me a moment to recognize them when I saw the test photographs,” added the filmmaker.

Ever since the film was announced, rumour has it that the film is based on one of the most feared female dons of the 80s, Rahima Khan. Popularly known as Sapna Didi, she was the mafia queen who tried to kill Dawood Ibrahim.

But Vishal put the speculation to rest saying that it’s not based on Sapna Didi.

“I would also like to clear that the film is still untitled and is not based on Rahima Khan/Sapna Didi’s life. Yes, it’s a takeoff from the story Femme Fatale from Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai but as we worked on this idea, the story and screenplay have taken on a new identity and shape which is nowhere close to the above-mentioned names. Hence, it’s definitely not a biopic,” added the filmmaker.