Described as “Moulin Rouge meets Saving Private Ryan“, Rangoon is a dream Vishal Bhardwaj had been nurturing for the last seven years. Set against the Second World War, this Casablanca-like love triangle featuring Kangana Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, finally took off when Sajid Nadiadwala came on board as producer. Shot extensively in Arunachal Pradesh, the film is now into post-production and remains shrouded in secrecy.

Last December, Mirror photographer Raju Shelar joined a group of kids in a Goregaon jungle to reel off shots of Kangana in action at Mumbai's Film City studio where a large wooden set resembling a theatre stage, had been constructed. Sexy in black, wielding a whip and sporting a Marilyn Monroe-like haircut, with a white stallion neighing close by and the British flag serving as the backdrop, she played to the gallery as Julia, a diva from the '40s.

Now, we have got our hands on a poster of a film from the film (so meta!) which encapsulates the action in lurid colours and animated forms. The Navroz Talkies production, Toofan Ki Beti, is toplined by “Jaanbaaz Miss Julia“ and brings back memories of a real-life cult icon from that era, Mary Ann Evans, who is best remembered by her screen name Fearless Nadia, and other stunt queens of the time.

The 1935 Hindi stunt film, Hunterwali (Women with a Whip), about a princess-turned-masked crusader, was a surprise blockbuster, propelling its leading lady to instant fame and launching a genre of action-adventures with the heroine as the protagonist. “Julia is not Fearless Nadia but is a '40s diva in her own right who came into films via theatre and as was the convention at the time, went to the front to entertain soldiers fighting the Second World War. That's where Julia who is in love with a producer, played by Saif Ali Khan, meets Shahid Kapoor's character and loses her heart again, bringing grit, glamour and romance into this intense war-drama,“ informs a source close to the development.

In an earlier interview to Mirror (May 5), Kangana had raved at the way Vishal had brought his larger-than-life vision on screen with grandeur and depth. “He's an amazing director, writer, composer and person. My Julia is beautiful, intense and funny. The film has three heroes,“ she had stated.