Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 12, 2018)

Mirror (January 9) had earlier reported that after Lipstick Under My Burkha, director Alankrita Shrivastava and producer Ekta Kapoor will be reuniting for another female-centric film. We have now learnt that the makers have roped in Bhumi Pednekar and Konkona Sen Sharma to play the leading ladies. The yet-untitled film also marks Alankrita’s reunion with Konkona, who was also a part of her last film.

“It’s about two women and their coming-of-age story which is set in Greater Noida. When Alankrita narrated the script, both Bhumi and Konkona loved it and immediately agreed to be a part of the project. They are presently prepping for the film and will start shooting from next week,” informs a source close to the development.

Alankrita had earlier said that working with Ekta went so well the last time, that a reunion seemed like natural progression. “Ekta has a lot of courage to take risks and she is the right person for the kind of films I make. I’m excited about exploring the lives of my new protagonists and the roles women have in the changing India of today. The future is female, not just in India but the world over,” the director had asserted.

When told that expectation from her follow-up directorial is sky-high, Alankrita had said, “It’s daunting because you don’t know what preconceived ideas people may have after Lipstick... I like to work with a blank slate. The journey of my debut film was intense but now it’s over.”

Meanwhile Bhumi, who was last seen in RS Prasanna’s Shubh Mangal Saavdhan with her first co-star, Ayushmann Khurrana, has wrapped up shooting for Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiraiya with Sushant Singh Rajput, while Konkona’s last Hindi film outing was Lipstick...