Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 6, 2017)

Mirror (November 28) had earlier reported that filmmaker Dinesh Vijan has roped in Rajkummar Rao to play the lead in his next production, an untitled horror comedy, which has been written by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, who are reuniting with Vijan after the Saif Ali Khanstarrer 2013 zombie comedy Go Goa Gone. We have now learnt that Shraddha Kapoor is now on-board the film as the female lead.

While the spokesperson from Vijan’s production house confirmed the news, a source close to the development informed Mirror, “Shraddha will play a small town girl with a mystery surrounding her character. It’s a unique role and in a zone that the actress has not attempted before. She has really liked the script and gave her approval last week.” The film is currently in the pre-production stage and the makers are scouting for locations. They will also zero in on a director soon.

Shraddha, who was last seen in Apoorva Lakhia’s biographical crime-drama Haseena Parkar, is busy shooting for the Prabhas starrer Hindi-Tamil-Telugu trilingual Saaho and is also prepping for Amole Gupte’s Saina Nehwal biopic. “Shraddha will start her prep for Dinesh’s film after she wraps up Saaho. The film will go on the floors in January,” adds the source. Meanwhile Rajkummar, who had recently fractured his leg while rehearsing for a TV turn, was on a break till recently and has resumed shooting for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Fanney Khan with Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
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Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; December 6, 2017)

Come 2018, there will be a barrage of fresh pairings in B-Town. Recently, Dinesh Vijan announced that he’s co-producing a horror comedy with Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru starring Rajkummar Rao. The team was busy scouting for a female lead and their hunt has finally ended with Shraddha Kapoor.

Dinu is reuniting with Raj and DK once again after Go Goa Gone. Reveals a source, “All three of them were extremely clear that they wanted an A-list heroine opposite Raj. Their first choice was Shraddha and she loved the script. Right after the first narration, she was in splits. She immediately okayed the film, worked out the modalities and signed on the dotted line on Monday evening.”

SHRADDHA’S FORAY INTO THE COMEDY GENRE
When After Hrs met Shraddha during the release of Haseena Parkar, she had said, “I’m itching to do a comedy. I have never done one. If there’s someone who comes to me with a great script, I’ll happily do it. My father is known for his impeccable comic timing but I never got the chance to explore that side of me.” It seems her wish has finally been fulfilled.

This will be her first stint in the genre. Adds the source, “Shraddha plays a regular Indian girl who is Raj’s love interest. But, all the characters have a surprise element. The story is based on an urban legend. Shraddha has never been part of a horror film or a comedy. So, this will be her debut in this space.”

JUGGLING DATES
The film goes on floors in the first week of January. Shraddha had to work around her schedule to accommodate the dates. Our source tells us, “Shraddha is already filming for Saaho with Prabhas and she has the Saina Nehwal biopic lined up next, for which she’s prepping simultaneously. When Raj, DK and Dinu wanted her to start shooting in January, she decided to reschedule her dates as she was keen on doing this film. The horror-comedy begins right after Saaho whereas the Saina biopic has been pushed a few months for now.”

RAJ’S STAR HEROINES
Interestingly, in his forthcoming films, Rajkummar Rao will be seen romancing some of Bollywood’s prominent ladies. While he plays Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s romantic interest in Fanney Khan, he stars opposite Sonam Kapoor in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.

SCOUTING FOR A DIRECTOR
While Dinu, Raj and DK are all directors, they will just be co-producing the film. They are looking for a director to helm the project. This film will be the first in the second innings of their association. “The trio has always been keen to work together. After the Rajkummar-Shraddha starrer, they plan to produce more films.”