Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; August 11, 2015)

After playing a ferocious dacoit in Revolver Rani (2014), Kangana Ranaut is likely to be seen as a bank robber in Hansal Mehta’s upcoming film titled Simran.

And if sources are to be believed, it is inspired by the exploits of an Indian an Indian-origin nurse who earned the moniker ‘Bombshell Bandit’ for a spate of robberies in the US last year.

Says a source, “The film is based on Sandeep Kaur, who pulled off a series of heists in three American states. It will be shot entirely in the US and will go on the floors in October. As Kangana is currently busy with other projects, Hansal will make an announcement just before the film takes off. This time, they want to remain guarded as the Sarabjit biopic did not work out for them.”

The actor-director duo had collaborated for the biopic on the late death-row prisoner, but after Hansal’s unceremonious ouster from the project, Kangs walked out too. Two months ago, the director announced that he was teaming up with Kangana for another film. There was speculation that it was based on a mountaineer, but he denied the buzz. He then revealed the project’s title (Simran), without getting into the details.

Hansal and Kangana did not respond to our text messages.

Who is the Bombshell Bandit?

Sandeep Kaur was born in Punjab and migrated to California along with her family and worked as a nurse there. She fell prey to gambling at Las Vegas following which she started borrowing heavily.

Unable to pay the mounting debts, she turned a bank robber in 2014 till the law caught up with her. Kaur was caught in a high-drama chase in April this year. She was nicknamed ‘bombshell bandit’ for her glamorous disguises during the heists. She has been sentenced to 66 months in prison.