Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 6, 2017)

It was a happy ending for the Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao love story, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and now three months later, it’s versatile director, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has a new game plan. Mirror has learnt that her next film, which is currently being scripted, revolves around kabaddi which has become a popular sport over the last three years thanks to the annual Pro Kabaddi League which has Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan and filmmaker Ronnie Screwvala rooting for it.

Ashwiny when contacted confirmed the news, saying, “My quest for telling stories close to my heart has found a like-minded partner in Fox Star Studios. Bareilly Ki Barfi was very different film from my debut directorial Nil Battey Sannata, but the idea is always to tell varied, content-driven stories that resonate with the audiences.”

The writer-director goes on to reveal she enjoys tennis and badminton in real life but kabaddi, even as a sport, is new to her. “It’s something I’d like to explore because like football, kabaddi too is getting into the limelight. The film will go on the floors next year. We are still to finalise the cast,” she informed.

Rucha Pathak of the production house says, “While researching and developing a concept on kabaddi we came across an idea that we felt was just right for Ashwiny, who has a unique voice as a storyteller as was evident in her first two films. I’m really glad she is going to be directing the film.”