Scriptwriter-turned-author Sheeja Jose had met filmmaker Sriram Raghavan 10 years ago, soon after the release of his second directorial, Johnny Gaddaar in 2007. The two had discussed a project, but then he got busy with his espionage thriller, Agent Vinod, for Saif Ali Khan and she went on to write and direct the desi counterpart of the US show, Ripley's Believe It or Not - Mano Ya Na Mano - which is based on the bizarre, with Irrfan Khan as the sutradhar of the show.

Now, a decade later, the two are collaborating on a thriller based on Sheeja's second bestseller, Gone With The Bullet. Sriram, who has read Sheeja's debut book, Goodbye Girl, describes her as a “welcome voice in Indian crime fiction“ and is keen to convert the novel into a full-length feature. The filmmaker is currently scripting his next, an adaptation of Vikas Swarup's The Accidental Apprentice. Sheeja's book is next in line.

The novel was originally a film script, which Sujoy Ghosh had planned to bring on screen. Sheeja points out that it is drawn from many true incidents and people which have been fictionalised. “It took me two years to complete and when things didn't fall in place with Sujoy, I turned the script into a book. The story follows an 18-year-old girl who falls in love with a 40-some thing assassin,“ she informs.

Sriram and Sheeja had planned to collaborate on another of her stories with her directing the film. But even that plan fell through. “Since Sriram takes a minimum of three years to finish his films, I knew it was a long wait before I got third time lucky,“ she laughs.

Sriram points out that this time he won't have to write the script since he has already read Sheeja's original draft. Prod them on the casting and she quips, “I think Sriram will agree that Akshay Kumar would be perfect as the brooding, dark assassin and Alia Bhatt as the new-age girl in love. It's a hatke romance against the backdrop of bullets.“