Taapsee will be playing the lead role in a pan-Indian sci-fi film, to be directed by filmmaker Barath Neelakantan, who had debuted with the 2019 Tamil thriller K-13, starring Arulnithi and Shraddha Srinath.

A source tells us, “It will be a science-fiction film that deals with aliens; in fact, its title will be Alien. But the story will be a totally fresh take on the genre. It will not have any influences of the many Hollywood alien films we have seen so far. The director has come up with a premise that explores how aliens might be in a country like India.”

Taapsee, we hear, was so kicked with this concept that she immediately said yes to the film. Besides her Bollywood projects, the actress is also doing another Tamil film, Annabelle Subramaniam, co-starring Vijay Sethupathi and directed by Deepak Sundarajan, with the production house that will back the sci-fi film.

Barath is yet to finalise the rest of the cast. It’s also unclear when the project is likely to go on floors. “The film will be shot in multiple languages and will be a proper pan-Indian film. It involves extensive pre-production work as it is a visual effects-heavy film, with the VFX budget alone amounting to over Rs. 10 crore. The team has already begun the prep work. The makers are trying to keep this a ‘Make in India’ project,” reveals the source and elaborates, “Even though this film involves extensive visual effects, they are planning to rope in technicians only from India.”