After the runaway success of Dream Girl, Ekta Kapoor taps director Raaj Shaandaliyaa again to write her next comedy featuring Disha Patani
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; October 9, 2019)

With the smashing success of Dream Girl, Bollywood discovered a talented director in Raaj Shaandilyaa. Ekta Kapoor, who bankrolled the debutant director's comedy, is ready to bet big on the writer-filmmaker again. mid-day has learnt that Kapoor and Shaandilyaa are joining forces again for a project, featuring Disha Patani in the lead. While Ashima Chibber will helm the story set in small-town India, it is interesting to note that the script is the brainchild of Shaandilyaa, who has previously worked on Kapil Sharma's popular show, Comedy Nights With Kapil.

A trade source reveals, "Rumours have been rife that Ekta and Disha are in talks for a movie that will see her play a small-town Punjabi girl from Chandigarh. What many don't know is that the movie has been written by Raaj Shaandilyaa. Interestingly, Raaj had a few concepts that he had narrated to Ekta before Dream Girl, and she had loved this one. With the success of the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer proving that he has his finger on the pulse of the audience, Ekta immediately greenlit this script. The concept had been on her mind ever since he had narrated it to her. However, Raaj won't be involved in the creative or casting process of the project, as he is busy with his next film."

Ecstatic about bringing another of Shaandilyaa's wacky ideas to the big screen, Kapoor tells mid-day that she felt Patani was best suited for the protagonist. "Disha has a strong connect with the youth and I couldn't think of anyone else who could portray the wild yet innocent, and crazy yet sensible character. To add to that, Disha's oomph takes it notches higher." The producer, who has consistently backed stories that have women driving the narrative, adds that she doesn't like to label her films as women-centric. "If we don't call a regular film 'male-centric', why do we put all films that have women at the centre of them into one bracket? I would rather say that my next is a crackling comedy with Disha in the lead."