Vishal Bhardwaj has replaced Honey Trehan as the director for Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan’s next film, according to reports. Trehan and Bhardwaj said they took the call because of creative differences.
Produced by KriArj and Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures, the as-yet-untitled film is based on a chapter from S Hussain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens of Mumbai.
Padukone’s character is based on Rahima Khan alias Sapna Didi, who had plotted to kill gangster Dawood Ibrahim to avenge her husband’s death. Though Sapna was killed before she could accomplish her goal, she is said to have dented Ibrahim’s network in Mumbai. Khan plays a gangster who helps her in her mission.
“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.
Trehan, who is a well-known casting director and has assisted Bhardwaj on several projects, will reportedly make his directorial debut with another upcoming Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures production. “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,” Trehan said.
The film is scheduled to begin production from February next year.