Sanjay Leela Bhansali to next helm Baiju Bawra

By: Mohnish Singh

Of late, there have been speculations that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is reteaming with superstar Shah Rukh Khan for a film called Izhaar, which he will commence right after completing his ongoing project Gangubai Kathiawadi with Alia Bhatt. There have also been reports that the filmmaker was planning to revive his shelved project Inshallah with Hrithik Roshan.

However, a source in the know divulges that SLB is committed to taking the musical epic Baiju Bawra on floors first before picking up any other project. “The filmmaker had officially announced Baiju Bawra in 2019 and he is sticking to his plans of making this epic next after the release of Gangubai (Kathiawadi). In fact, in the lockdown over the last one year, he even took some time off to work on the script, screenplay and music of Baiju Bawra. It is his dream project and he is looking forward to commencing this journey once Gangubai (Kathiawadi) and Heera Mandi is out of his system,” a source close to the development informs a publication.

The source goes on to add, “While the story stems from the 1952 classic Baiju Bawra, Bhansali is planning to bring in his own spin to this epic tale. The grandeur, music and storytelling aside, the star-cast is said to be the main highlight of the film. If everything goes as planned, with actors giving a combination shooting dates, this one will hit the floors by mid-2022.”

The source, however, adds that the final call will be taken after the coronavirus pandemic starts showing some signs of abatement. “Baiju Bawra is a prep heavy film, which is to be mounted on a certain scale. Hence, SLB will take it on floors only when it is safe to shoot without any restriction. Everyone in his production unit is optimistic that things will just improve from hereon, reaching normalcy by mid-2022. However, only if things do not come under control, he might do something else on a smaller scale before Baiju Bawra. But at the moment, Baiju is his next,” the source signs off.