Mirror (September 16) was the first to report that Chetan Bhagat is all set to turn producer with the big screen adaptation of his next novel, Half Girlfriend. The author has joined hands with Mohit Suri and Ekta Kapoor who will be on board as co-producers.(Mirror, September 25).

The book is being launched on October 1 in Mumbai and Delhi. And speculation is rife about who will play Riya, a posh girl from Delhi, who is the book's protagonist.

Though the book is yet to release, a source told Mirror, “Riya is a student at St. Stephen's and has an air of self-importance around her. But that is just her exterior.“ Buzz is, Kriti Sanon and Huma Qureshi are among the contenders for the role. “No, they are just launching the book,“ says the source.

Now, Mirror has learnt that the ball is in Alia Bhatt's court. “It's a role tailor-made for Alia and both Mohit and Chetan believe that Alia, who had earlier played Ananya Swaminathan in 2 States based on another Chetan bestseller, will do complete justice to Riya. Alia her self is keen to work with Mohit, who is her cousin,“ says the source.

When contacted Mohit said, “Alia is an amazing actress. I'm currently developing the script and haven't reached the casting stage. All I can say at the moment is that she'd be great for the part.“