26 November,2022 07:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Priyanka Sharma
Harshvardhan Rane and Meezaan Jafri
Sanjay Gupta's romance with crime dramas continues. This time around, though, he has traded Mumbai's grimy setting for the beaches of Goa. The yet-untitled film, starring Harshvardhan Rane and Meezaan Jafri, revolves around two brothers, who are also football players. After narrating several gangster stories, Gupta is relieved to move towards a modest setting. "After Mumbai Saga [2021], I felt I was done with set-pieces. I came across this wonderful script, which is about two brothers and football," says Gupta, who has co-written the drama.
Sanjay Gupta
Also Read: Amitabh asked to lend his voice for film on history of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi
The movie's setting isn't the only factor that sets it apart from the filmmaker's previous offerings. Having collaborated with stars in the past, it was rejuvenating to work with relatively newer faces. "I wanted to first cast the actors with the right physicality and screen presence. I am quite old-fashioned [in my belief] that a hero [must] look like a hero. I felt these two boys have the potential to break through. I cast them because they were football players as well as good actors," he says of Rane and Jafri.
ALSO READ
Priyanka Chopra puts her toned legs on display in shimmery outfit
'Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai' actor recalls Salman Khan driving on the footpath
Meet Radhika Apte’s husband Benedict Taylor who composed music for 'Heeramandi'
Madhuri Dixit celebrates 25 years of mariage with Dr Shriram Nene
‘All We Imagine As Light’ filmmaker Payal Kapadia on Oscar snub
Currently in post-production, the crime drama is among the five projects conceptualised by Gupta's production house in 2021, for direct-to-OTT release. "We have no illusion of taking these movies to theatres and making big numbers. I was clear that it would take minimum two years for [Bollywood to recover after the pandemic]." Besides the upcoming project, Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh's Visfot is ready to stream next year. The remaining three are also thrillers set against different backdrops. Gupta adds, "One is a story of a day in Chandni Chowk, while the other is a comedy thriller. I will direct the third, which is a black comedy."
Also Read: Sooraj Barjatya: Salman is easily the most family-oriented person I know