Deepika cast as 'Mafia Queen' with Irrfan Khan

Deepika Padukone has signed her next film after “Padmavati”, and it reunites her with “Piku” co-star Irrfan Khan, reports film industry insiders. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted on Friday revealing that Deepika and Irrfan have been cast in a film to be co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj and directed by Honey Singh, casting head for films like “Raees”, “Udta Punjab” and several Bhardwaj-directed movies including “Maqbool”, “Omkara” and “Kaminey”. The film doesn't have a name yet, but is based on journalist S Hussain Zaidi's book “Mafia Queens Of Mumbai”, reports news agency IANS. Deepika will play gangster Rahima Khan, also known as Sapna Didi, and Irrfan's character helps her take on underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim, according to IANS.

“Deepika has been asking me to write a script for her for a long time. She heard this script and loved it. We are in an advance stage of discussion with her,” Vishal Bhardwaj was quoted as saying. 

“Piku”, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, was directed by Shoojit Sircar and released in 2015. It received several plaudits, including top marks for the performances of Deepika, Irrfan and Bachchan. 

Deepika was kept busy last year filming and then promoting her Hollywood debut “xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage”, co-starring Vin Diesel. It released at the beginning of 2017 and while it wasn't well-reviewed, Deepika's performance as Serena Unger was singled out for performance. After completing her scenes, Deepika shot a song sequence for upcoming Bollywood film “Raabta”, which stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. 

Deepika is currently working on the historical drama “Padmavati”, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-starring actors Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor. “Padmavati”, in which she plays the title character, is based on the legend of how Rani Padmini of Chittor escaped invader Alauddin Khilji, played by Ranveer. The film has been dogged by controversy, with sets vandalised and its director assaulted in Jaipur by a fringe Rajput organisation that objected to supposed scenes depicting a romance between Rani Padmini and Emperor Alauddin Khilji. Filming was moved to Maharashtra's Kolhapur area where, again, the set was attacked and set on fire, damaging costumes and props. Nobody was hurt and none of the principal actors were present.

Source: NDTV Movies