Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal to play husband-wife in Meghna Gulzar’s next?

Writer-director Meghna Gulzar is looking to adapt Harinder S Sikka’s first novel, Calling Sehmat, a period drama set in the years between the 1971 India-Pakistan war. The book is a fictionalised account of an Indian Kashmiri woman who married a Pakistani army man, and turned spy for India. This will be Meghna Gulzar's first film after Talvar, which was based on the 2008 Aarushi Talwar - Hemraj Banjade murder case.

Actress Alia Bhatt, who is in between films right now, is a frontrunner for the role of the Kashmiri woman, while Vicky Kaushal is tipped to play her husband. Bhatt’s last film, Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), is one of the few hits Hindi cinema has produced this year. She will begin shooting for Ayan Mukerji’s Dragon opposite Ranbir Kapoor in a few months, once Kapoor's shooting schedule for the Sanjay Dutt biopic ends.

Besides Dragon, Alia Bhatt is also starring in Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy with Ranveer Singh. However, Akhtar's film is not due to begin shooting until November. Gully Boy, a film based on the lives of Mumbai’s street rappers, will be co-produced by Zoya’s banner Tiger baby and Excel Entertainment’s Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.

The actress will share screen space for the first time with Vicky Kaushal. After gaining critical acclaim for his first lead role in Masaan (2015), Vicky Kaushal was last seen in Zubaan (2016) and Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016). He is currently shooting with director Rajkumar Hirani on the Sanjay Dutt biopic, although for a smaller part.

Meghna Gulzar's untitled film is reportedly co-produced by Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions, and expected to go on the floors next month, once the cast is finalised.