Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 23, 2018)

Tigmanshu Dhulia can heave a sigh of relief as his long-in-the-making Milan Talkies finally has a release date. Amidst Manikarnika, Super 30 and Thackeray reportedly eyeing the Republic Day window, the Ali Fazal-starrer will hit screens on January 18. Describing his film as a “love story set against the old world charm of single- screen cinemas”, Dhulia says, “Since I have been working on the film for a long time, it is extremely close to my heart. It portrays a fresh love story and I am eager to show it to the audience.”

The filmmaker shows no signs of bitterness over the struggle he endured to give shape to his vision. Originally conceived with Imran Khan as the lead in 2012, the project saw several stars — including Shahid Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur — become part of it only to opt out later.

However, having shot with the actor fits the part to the T. Heaping praise on him and Shraddha Srinath, he says, “It was a fabulous experience to shoot with them together since they both come from the same school of acting and bring similar style to the table. Most of the cast members were new to me. So, ensuring that everyone was on the same page was a challenge since Milan Talkies is a performance-based film, at the end of the day.”