Three years after reuniting onscreen with Shah Rukh Khan for Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale (2015), Kajol seems set to return to Hindi cinema with Pradeep Sarkar’s next, tentatively called Ela. According to the director, the cast and crew have already begun workshops and rehearsals to facilitate the shooting process.
The film, produced by Kajol’s husband Ajay Devgn and Jayantilal Gada, will begin shooting this Wednesday, 24 January. Ela is adapted from writer-director Anand Gandhi’s Gujarati play, Beta Kaagdo. The light-hearted film revolves around a mother-son relationship and Kajol will reportedly be playing a single parent.
Director Sarkar told newspaper Mumbai Mirror that Riddhi Sen, last seen in Bhoomi (2017), would be playing Kajol’s son and Bengali actor Tota Roy Chowdhury will also be a part of the cast. Chowdhury earlier acted in Kahaani 2 (2016) and Indu Sarkar (2017).
After acting in Dilwale, Kajol returned to Tamil cinema to act in VIP 2 (2017) with Dhanush. Her last Tamil film was in 1997 when she acted in Minsara Kanavu with Prabhudeva and Arvind Swamy. The film was released in Hindi titled Sapnay.
Sarkar’s last film Mardaani (2014) was with Kajol’s cousin, Rani Mukerji. His first directorial was Parineeta (2005), which launched Vidya Balan.