Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 6, 2018)

While rumours were rife that Shahid Kapoor would romance Katrina Kaif or Vaani Kapoor in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha filmmaker Shree Narayan Singh’s follow-up film, Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Mirror has learnt that Shraddha Kapoor has been finalised for the part. The actress will play a North Indian character whose life serves as the catalyst for the story. The film will also feature another leading lady as a lawyer alongside Shahid.

Shahid and Shraddha were first seen together in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, a desi adaptation of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The duo is excited to be re-uniting for their second project. “Shraddha was keen to come on-board because it is a career-defining role. The film is a love story at its core set in a small town. It is also socially relevant as it highlights the issues of electricity shortage that the common man faces,” producer Prernaa Arora told Mirror, adding that the film is scheduled to release on August 31.

Initially to kick off on January 19, the film now goes on the floors in the first week of February and will be shot in a start-to-finish schedule across Haridwar, Rishikesh, Tehri, Mussoorie and Nainital. The makers are hoping to wrap up by May.

“Instances have been reported where even after not being at home for a better part of the month, families return to huge electricity bills. The film investigates such issues with a sarcastic undertone,” Prernaa informed.

Meanwhile, Shraddha begins filming Dinesh Vijan’s next with Rajkummar Rao from January 13. The 30-year-old actress will also be seen in Baahubali-star Prabhas’s Hindi debut, the action-packed Saaho, this year, while her co-star Shahid’s turn as the king of Mewar in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period-romance Padmavati still awaits a release date after the censor nod.