In June 2021, on the occasion of Subrata Roy’s birthday, producer Sandeep Singh announced a biopic on the founder-chairperson of Sahara India Pariwar. The decision to make the film came after the company denounced the Netflix series, Bad Boy Billionaires: India (2020) as “ill-researched and baseless”. In the documentary series, an episode chronicled the infamous business tycoon’s rise and fall, after allegations of financial fraud.

Almost two years since the announcement, the project is apparently making headway. Sources say that Anil Kapoor is in talks to play the Sahara chief.

“Since the film traces the protagonist from his 30s to 60s, the makers went through a gamut of actors who could play the wide range. Anil was the top contender for the part. The team initiated talks with him in January, and he is excited about the role. He will finalise the deal once a director has been roped in,” reveals a source.

It is said that the team has a director in mind, and is likely to finalize things soon. The source adds, “Now that the script is locked, the film could go on floors as early as the year-end.”

At the time of announcement, the makers had shared that veteran lyricist Gulzar and composer A R Rahman had been brought on board to create the film’s album.