Joginder Tuteja (DNA; March 10, 2016)

Last March, Kangana Ranaut and Hansal Mehta were due to make Sarbjit together. At the time, the biopic was in the news and hot in the trade. However, once director Omung Kumar came on board and Hansal moved out, the director-actress duo promptly announced that they would be making Simran together.

Cause for confusion
Soon enough, tongues started wagging that whether Simran would be same as Sarbjit, in which Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur. “The rumours were accentuated by the fact that Simran is a Punjabi name as well and gives the feel of a biopic,” says an insider.

Gujarati, not Sikh
Post Aligarh, Hansal is gearing up to begin work on Simran, he is ready to quash the speculations once for and all. “No, Simran has nothing to do with Sarbjit. In any case, it cannot be since the film is set in the USA. Moreover, Kangana is playing a Gujarati girl, and not Sikh. Guess that should put all rumours to rest,” says Hansal.

A new journey
He is looking forward to bringing Simran on floors in April. “Yes, once Kangana is through with Rangoon, we start Simran,” says Hansal, “This film is a completely new journey and I am nervous as well as excited. The film has a lovely theme and it is very well-written. It has a great character for someone of Kangana’s calibre. I find her very easy to work with. I have discovered that we match on a certain wavelength.”

It was a mistake
He has left the Sarbjit chapter behind him though. “I was involved with the film for a very short phase. In hindsight, I feel that the choice of subject (and the people I chose to be associated with) was a mistake. Thank goodness that phase is over,” says Hansal before signing off.