In Maamla Legal Hai 2, Dibyendu Bhattacharya did what he has always done — he showed us that an actor can shine irrespective of whether they are leading the offering or not. Having built a career on supporting parts, the actor has consistently been appreciated for his work. But the appreciation has come with a term that he detests. “I feel bad about this funda of ‘character actor’,” he told mid-day.

Explaining his stance, Bhattacharya shared, “The industry has gotten slightly better in treating all actors equally. I tell people, ‘If I am a character actor, does it mean your lead is characterless? Have you given the characters to actors like us and not given anything to your lead?’ What does the term even mean?” 

In the coming months, the actor has many projects to look forward to, from Prime Video’s Raakh to Alia Bhatt-led Alpha. But if there’s one film he has eagerly been awaiting, it’s Anushka Sharma’s Chakda Xpress. Director Prosit Roy’s film, reportedly ready since 2023, has yet to see the light of day apparently due to a fallout between Netflix and Clean Slate Filmz.

Bhattacharya said, “I often ask Prosit when it will release, and he says, ‘Even I have no idea about it.’ It’s very sad. It was Anushka’s best performance to date.”

On November 2, Team India scripted history as it emerged the champions of the ICC 2025 Women's Cricket World Cup. The win has already had a ripple effect in films. mid-day has learnt that Netflix India is facing pressure to release Chakda Xpress, the Jhulan Goswami-biopic led by Anushka Sharma. The biopic has been lying with Netflix for nearly three years, reportedly due to a fallout between the streamer and the production house, Clean Slate Filmz, led by Karnesh Ssharma.

After the Indian women’s cricket squad’s win, many social media users called for the film’s release. Some members of the movie’s team have also appealed to the platform. A source from the film’s core team tells mid-day, “We have personally written to top executives at Netflix India to see if they can rise above the conflict so that the film can see the light of day. A biopic on a legend like Jhulan di deserves to reach the audience.”

What exactly went wrong with director Prosit Roy’s biopic on the former captain? An insider, who worked on the film, shares, “The production house went over-budget. What added to the woes was that the platform heads didn’t like the way the project was shaping up. But it’s still a solid film.” Since the biopic’s shoot wrapped up in 2022, it has been caught in a deadlock.

Chakda Xpress’s rights currently rest with Netflix. Another source shares, “The recent victory has put the attention back on the biopic. Internal discussions at the streamer have started, and the team is expected to take a final pass this month to determine if it can be released after additional work.”

mid-day reached out to Roy and Ssharma. Both declined to comment.

Actor Renuka Shahane has expressed profound disappointment and heartbreak over recent reports suggesting that Anushka Sharma’s film, Chakda Xpress, might be shelved. The film is a biopic is based on cricketer Jhulan Goswami. Renuka, who filmed her scenes for the movie in 2022, shared her shock during an interview recently.

“I didn’t know. I am very shocked. I am totally heartbroken, basically, because I think everyone has put in so much effort. Anushka has also worked on herself so much for it,” Renuka stated.

She further emphasized the film’s significance, particularly for women in sports. “And whatever scenes I did were so powerful and so impactful, especially for women in sports,” she explained in an interview with NDTV.

Renuka highlighted the inspiring story of the cricketer: “Jhulan Goswami is iconic, and coming from a very poor house and making it big— and yet the kind of discrepancy that still exists between men’s cricket and women’s cricket, and all other sports, I would say— Chakda Xpress had that core quality of sportsmanship.”

Renuka also lauded Anushka’s portrayal, noting, “Anushka has done such a good job of creating that character.”

She revealed that the majority of her scenes were with Anushka, who was her seen in, Zero, in 2018.

Chakda Xpress, which completed filming in 2022, is slated for release on OTT. Despite the current uncertainty, Renuka remains hopeful, wishing “there was some way such a beautiful film could be salvaged.”

Actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya is thrilled about his upcoming projects, particularly Alpha, where he shares the screen with Alia Bhatt and Sharvari. “They bring such distinct energies to the set; it was an absolute delight working with both. Today’s actors are incredibly dedicated — nailing hardcore action sequences isn’t as easy as it looks. They’re far more professional than I was when I started 25 years ago, and I’ve had to evolve along the way,” says the seasoned actor, who began his journey in theatre in the late ’80s.

Though action isn’t his usual territory, Dibyendu is eager to dive into the genre at this stage of his career: “You get inspired once you see your co-actors acing the game and both my co-actors as well as the all the others had a lot on their sleeves. I knew it will be an actioner from day one and thrill bhi bhar bhar ke hoga, so I was prepared in my head.”

For Dibyendu, the presence of female leads in a project isn’t a defining factor — what matters is the art. “I love cinema, and that’s what drives me. Whether I’m working with one or two female leads, or with a woman producer or director, the goal remains the same — to create something impactful for the audience,” he explains.

Reuniting with Alia after Poacher (2024), where she served as executive producer, is an exciting prospect for him. “Alia is a leading woman with a conscience. When she backed Poacher, I became a huge fan of hers — it was a risky subject, but she took the leap. Sharing screen space with her this time is thrilling.”

Dibyendu is also hopeful about the timely release of Chakda Xpress, starring Anushka Sharma, and the remake of Ek Ruka Hua Faisla — two very different films he’s eager to see reach audiences. “A film releasing on time is a blessing for everyone involved, but as actors, that’s beyond our control,” he remarks.

Actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya says, after years in the film industry, he has finally learnt to balance work and life.

The actor, who is known for his web shows such as Poacher and Undekhi, shares, “After being in this profession for 24 years, I can say that I learned and unlearned a lot about life. It’s not easy to go with the flow as acting is not a 9-5 job. In all these years, my only point was ke khali nai baithna hai. The only thing I do at my end is not to repeat myself as an actor, ek hi jaisa dikhna is an actor’s death.”

Bhattacharya adds that there is “no such thing” as a bankable actor.

He explains, “Acting is a slippery field, and you never know what will work and what will not. Kucch bhi bankable nahin ho sakta is industry mein. Yes, your directors can trust you to play a certain role to the best of your ability and that’s it. But the twist is that as actors, some of our projects don’t get to see the light of the day. A few of my films, including Chakda Xpress, that is very close to my heart still await release.”

The actor, who began with directing plays, says that he’s still close to theatre: “Theatre se alag ho nai sakte. I have a few things on my bucket list that I will direct once again, as I used to in my theatre days in the late 1980s.”

Ask about the projects he has lined up next, and Bhattacharya, who has enough on his plate, replies, “For now, I am constantly on something or the other. I am wrapping a series with director Sriram Raghavan and my film Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is in post-production.”

When Anshul Chauhan signed Animal, she was certain that Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s directorial venture would be an experience to cherish, but, little did she know that her performance would bring her as much attention as it did. Earning praise as Ranbir Kapoor’s younger sister in the film, Chauhan acknowledges that the film is “doing the most for me because the project worked”.

“I featured in Tejas, which released last month. I played a substantial part in it but the film didn’t do well. I had more expectations as an actor from Tejas, but [I am coming to realize that] a project has to work for an actor to get noticed,” she says. She believes her collaboration with Kapoor is a result of manifestation. 

Heaping praise on the actor, she says, “He was always there to give the cues, even when the camera wasn’t on him. That’s beneficial for actors like us. [Usually], lead actors work for eight hours, have their [shots] filmed, and leave. As for their co-actors, it is the assistant directors who give cues. But, being cued by the co-actor always enhances one’s performance because reciprocating emotions becomes easier. Ranbir was there on sets for more than 12 hours a day to do that.”

Up next for her is the Anushka Sharma-led sports biopic, Chakda ’Xpress. The actor, who plays a cricketer in the film, refers to Sharma as her role model. “Anushka is my favourite co-actor, and the best human being I have met in the industry. She is a secure actor, with pure, and clear intentions. Working on Chakda was a fantastic experience. I learned cricket for six months. Rarely do female actors get roles that are so emotive. It has an element of heroism attached with it,” she says, adding that she plays a grey character in it.

Anushka Sharma kicked off the shoot of Chakda Xpress, a biopic on former Indian women’s cricket captain Jhulan Goswami, in June in Mumbai. While the emotional scenes were shot in the first schedule, the upcoming leg in the United Kingdom will focus on the matches that made Goswami a force to reckon with, in the international arena. It is heard that Sharma will undergo a two-week training in Leeds to perfect her bowling skills before the next spell begins.

A source reveals, “Anushka had a fair amount of training earlier this year before director Prosit Roy called action on the project. But she is leaving no stone unturned to become Jhulan on screen. She will fly to Leeds in mid-August to work with her coach to pick up Jhulan’s style of bowling. The cricketer is known to be one of the fastest women bowlers, and it won’t be easy to emulate that. Anushka will train till August-end, after which Prosit will resume his place behind the camera. The second schedule will go on till September.”

The Netflix offering marks Sharma’s first movie after embracing motherhood. In tracing Goswami’s glorious journey in Indian cricket, the actor intends to highlight women’s struggles in the sport.

“It feels like my first film again,” grins Anushka Sharma, who began shooting for Chakda Xpress this week in Mumbai. The project is significant to the actor for two reasons — Prosit Roy’s directorial venture marks her first movie after embracing motherhood. More importantly, it traces the glorious journey of former Indian women’s cricket captain Jhulan Goswami, thus reiterating women’s struggles in the sport.

As she returns to the movies three-and-a-half years after Zero (2018), Sharma is glad to have found a film she truly believes in. She says, “Unfortunately, the pandemic kept me from returning to the movies, even though I was itching to start filming.”

Though the Netflix film rolled only recently, Sharma’s prep began in February as she headed to the pitch to pick up Goswami’s bowling style. “A film of this scale needed tremendous prep in all departments. It is a delightful script that intends to make strong statements,” she says.

After wrapping up the Mumbai leg, the team is expected to head to the United Kingdom for an extensive schedule next month.

The story celebrates the grit of Goswami, who went on to create the record for the highest number of wickets taken by a woman in an international cricket career. The actor considers the biopic one of her most definitive films. “It is a fact that women have to go that extra mile to earn their place in this patriarchal world. Jhulan Goswami’s life is testimony to the fact that she carved her own destiny, and fought for every inch of the spotlight and recognition. I hope that I can do justice to the script.”

Anushka Sharma is prepping hard to step into the shoes of celebrated Indian fast bowler Jhulan Goswami for Chakda Xpress. Meanwhile, director Prosit Roy and producer Karnesh Ssharma are locking the locations for the sports drama that will trace the achievements of the former Indian women’s cricket captain. It is heard that some key portions of the biopic will be filmed at the Lord's Stadium in the United Kingdom. The iconic stadium hosted the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final where Goswami had picked up three wickets against England.

Anushka is also slated to shoot at the Headingley stadium in the UK. The Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) recently announced a sponsorship deal with Karnesh’s Clean Slate Filmz. “The YCCC will take over as the principal sponsor at Headingley for the 2022 season. It’s a given that Anushka will shoot at this stadium. On home turf, the makers are keen to film some sequences at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The film will most likely be shot at four big stadiums across the world,” reveals a source.

In keeping with the scale on which their past projects have been mounted, Anushka and Karnesh are pulling out all stops to ensure that Chakda Xpress becomes a definitive biopic on a sports icon.