Upala KBR (MID-DAY; April 24, 2019)

In 2017, rumours were rife that a biopic on Arjuna Award-winner P T Usha was in the works with Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the lead. Two years later, director Revathy S Varmha has revived the project, apparently with a different actor. Sources suggest that the director has approached Katrina Kaif to bring the life of India's renowned athlete on celluloid.

Conceived as a multi-lingual (English, Hindi, Chinese and Russian besides other Indian languages), the film will chart on-track exploits of the sportsperson, who earned the nickname of Payyoli Express because of her speed.

Says a trade source, "Revathy has had a few sittings with Katrina over the past few months. The duo met few days ago in Mumbai for another narration. While the actor seems to be interested in the project, she will take a call only after the final narration. If Katrina gives her nod, it will mark her first biopic. She will have to undergo rigorous prep for the part, including adopting P T Usha's sprinting style. Since the athlete is on board, she is likely to supervise the actor. For now though, Katrina has only signed Sooryavanshi after Bharat."

A noted ad filmmaker, Varmha has previously directed June R (2006) in Tamil and Maad Dad (2013) in Malayalam. mid-day reached out to Kaif and Varmha, who remained unavailable for comment.