What does it take to bring three National Award-winning actors together on screen? Director Suresh Triveni has the answer — a compelling script. The filmmaker recently announced Jalsa, which sees Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah and Rohini Hattangadi share screen space. While the director kicked off the project on Thursday with the secondary cast, Balan will commence shooting on Monday.

“After the feel-good Tumhari Sulu [2017], Suresh has taken on an intense subject with Jalsa. It’s a hard-hitting drama that studies the different classes of society, and how one influences the other,” says a source. In his second outing with Balan after the delightful Tumhari Sulu, Triveni has rounded up an eclectic cast by roping in Hattangadi. “The senior actor has been active in Marathi showbiz, featuring in serials and movies. She was, however, missing from the Hindi film circuit and was last seen in Bejoy Nambiar’s David [2013]. Suresh was keen to cast her in Jalsa, and was thrilled when she came on board.”

Balan will film her scenes over the next few days, post which Shah and Hattangadi will join her. The trio have some powerful scenes together, which will be filmed by the month-end. The drama, backed by Vikram Malhotra, will be shot over a start-to-finish schedule across various locations in Mumbai.