Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; June 21, 2018)

After a lot of speculation, filmmaker Anurag Basu has zeroed in on the lead cast of his upcoming love story, Imli. While Kangana Ranaut had already been signed for the film, Bombay Times has exclusively learnt that Rajkummar Rao has been roped in to play the male lead. The two actors have worked together previously in Queen (2014) and are shooting for their upcoming film Mental Hai Kya, making Imli their third outing together.

A source close to the project confirmed, “Rajkummar has been signed for the film opposite Kangana. This is his first film with Basu. He is very excited to work with him, as it was always his dream to be a part of an Anurag Basu movie. Raj also happens to be a fan of love stories, so that makes this all the more special.” The film is touted to be a love story, which deals with relationships on a very human level, but with Basu’s vision. The shoot will begin in November.

As far as Kangana is concerned, the actress will reunite with Basu, who directed her debut film Gangster (2006), after a gap of eight years. They last worked together on Kites (2010), after which there were rumours of a fallout between the two. However, the source added, “Kangana respects Basu a lot. Those were just baseless rumours.”