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Deepika perfect to play mafia queen, feels Vishal Bhardwaj

Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj believes Deepika Padukone has the rare quality of being a superstar and a good actor.

Deepika will reunite with her Piku co-star Irrfan Khan for Bhardwaj's as-yet-untitled production, to be directed by Honey Trehan.


Vishal is happy that Trehan got to work with a dream cast in his very first film.

"I am more excited for my friend Honey, who has been with me for the last 20 years. He is lucky to have this brilliant a cast in his first film. I am very happy and excited to produce the film," he told reporters last night.

In the movie, Deepika will reportedly play mafia queen Rahima Khan, popularly known as Sapna Didi, while Irrfan will portray a local gangster, who is in love with her and helps her in her mission to eliminate Dawood Ibrahim.

When asked if Deepika will do justice to the role, Vishal said, "Deepika is one of the finest actors we have. She has a combination of an actor and a star. Very rarely do we see a superstar who is also a good actor, she is one of that."

The film will begin shooting in January next year.

Vishal was speaking at the screening of Paakhi Tyrewala's short film Kajal which features actress Salony Luthra.

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5 mythological picks now streaming in the UK — must-watch

Why UK audiences are turning to Indian mythology — and the OTT releases driving the trend this year

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5 mythological picks now streaming in the UK — and why they’re worth watching

Highlights:

  • Indian mythological titles are landing on global OTT services with better quality and reach.
  • Netflix leads the push with Kurukshetra and Mahavatar Narsimha.
  • UK viewers can access some titles now, though licensing varies.
  • Regional stories and folklore films are expanding the genre.
  • 2025 marks the start of long-form mythological world-building on OTT.

There’s a quiet shift happening on streaming platforms this year. Indian mythological stories, once treated as children’s animation or festival reruns, have started landing on global services with serious ambition. These titles are travelling further than they ever have, including into the UK’s busy OTT space.

It’s about scale, quality, and the strange comfort of old stories in a digital world that changes too fast. And in a UK market dealing with subscription fatigue, anything fresh, strong, and rooted in clear storytelling gets noticed.

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