Only a few days ago, mid-day reported that Kartik Aaryan and Vishal Bhardwaj were in talks for a gritty thriller, which would mark their maiden collaboration (Talking thrillers, March 22). Now, we’ve dug deeper and learnt that the film is apparently a reimagination of a thriller that the filmmaker was planning with the late Irrfan, and Deepika Padukone.

In 2018, Bhardwaj had announced a film on Sapna Didi, which was to be an adaptation of a chapter from S Hussain Zaidi’s book, Mafia Queens Of Mumbai. Padukone was set to play Ashraf Khan, also known as Sapna Didi, who vowed to bring down underworld don Dawood Ibrahim with the help of Hussain Ustara. The film did not get off the ground as Irrfan, who was to play Hussain Ustara, was diagnosed with cancer.

Now, sources say that Bhardwaj is taking another stab at the story. “Vishal and Kartik are working on the Sapna Didi story. But unlike the earlier version, this will be told from the perspective of Hussain Ustara. The script is ready. The makers are yet to lock the female lead,” says a source close to the development.

If things go as planned, the Sajid Nadiadwala production will roll sometime in September or October.