I persisted Vishal Bhardwaj for Sapna Didi biopic, reveals Deepika

Fresh from the humongous success of her recent release, Padmaavat, Bollywood's reigning queen Deepika Padukone is now gearing up for her next film, which is tentatively titled as Sapna Didi.

To be helmed by celebrated filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, the film is based on the life and times of Ashraf Khan, famously known as Sapna Didi.

“Sapna Didi had planned Dawood’s execution during a cricket match in Sharjah to avenge her husband’s death. Unfortunately for her, he got wind of her plans and killed her days before she could get to him. The film is expected to go on the floors by the year-end,” a source had once revealed to a leading daily.

Deepika plays the role of the mafia queen in the movie. Talking about the film, Deepika recently revealed that she had to pursue Vishal Bhardwaj to make the film.

“Of all the scripts I have heard in the last two years, I’ve been stuck on this one. He (Vishal Bhardwaj) brought this to me first, got me excited and then when I was ready to do it, he had moved on to something else. But, I persisted. It’s the one occasion where I pursued the director to make the film,” she said.

Aside from Deepika Padukone, the forthcoming biopic also has National Award winning actor Irrfan Khan. Deepika and Irrfan have previously worked together in Piku. Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the film was well received by the audience.

On working with Irrfan again, Deepika said, “He’s witty, smart and intelligent. I’m glad I’ll be bouncing my ideas off someone who’s a master at what he does. For an actor, that’s going to be challenging but also exciting.”

The film is expected to mount the shooting floors in February.