The actress’s next, on man-animal conflict, being shot in the forests of Madhya Pradesh
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 5, 2020)

After Jagan Shakti’s 2019 multi-starrer, Mission Mangal, Vidya Balan kicked off her next, Sherni, on Wednesday, March 4, in Bhoot Palasi in Madhya Pradesh. Directed by Newton director Amit Masurkar, the film features the actress as a forest officer. “I loved Newton and when Amit narrated Sherni to me, I knew I wanted to do this film. The uniqueness of the story and its world appealed to me,” informs the National Award-winning actress.

According to a source close to the production, the drama has strong humorous undertones with Vidya’s character, along with a team of dedicated officers and forest guards, trying to find a solution to the man-animal conflict depicted in the film, while tracing her own journey. “Most of the film will be shot in the dense forests of Bhoot Palasi and Balaghat, along with other locations in the state,” informs the source.

The film, produced by Bhushan Kumar, Vikram Malhotra and Amit, rolled on March 2 and will be shot in a start-to-finish schedule. It is expected to wrap up by April-end and also features Vijay Raaz, Sharat Saxena and Ila Arun.

Newton (2017) bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and was India’s entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. It centred on a government clerk, played by Rajkummar Rao, who is on election duty in a conflict-ridden jungle of Central India. “The story of Sherni is one that needs to be told. I am happy to be working with Vidya Balan, one of the finest actors and human beings in the industry,” Amit asserts.