Tigmanshu Dhulia's long delayed Milan Talkies is finally set to be released on 15 March 2019. The makers announced the release date along with the first poster of the film.
Milan Talkies will have Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mere Pyare Prime Minister for competition at the box office.
In the poster, the characters of Ali Fazal and Shraddha Srinath are seen perched atop what looks like the roof with a neon-lit 'Milan Talkies' signboard in the background.
Ali Fazal plays a film projectionist in the movie, which is set in Uttar Pradesh in the 2010-2013 period when single-screen theatres held great significance in smaller towns.
The film is produced by PS Chhatwal’s company Torque and Reecha Sinha of Filmy Keeda Productions and co-produced by Om Prakash Bhatt’s Purple Bull Entertainment.
"What really touched my heart was the fact that this boy works at a projection room that is the hub of communication with the outside world in a small city like Allahabad and yet he is unable to communicate his love to his girlfriend," Ali Fazal said in a statement. "It is a story revolving around them in the period when the single screens were making the big shift to multiplexes. It is an unconventional love story."
Director Dhulia said, "Milan Talkies is very close to my heart. It is a beautiful desi romantic love story set in Uttar Pradesh. Ali and Shraddha have done a brilliant job. I am really looking forward to showing the film to the audience. I hope they like it.”
Producer Chhatwal said, “I am happy that this movie is under the creative guidance of Tigmanshu Dhulia and it will definitely be worth watching. With a different love story and entertainment galore, we are looking forward to audiences watching Milan Talkies on 15 March."
The screenplay and dialogues are written by Dhulia and Kamal Pandey. Apart from Ali Fazal and Shraddha, the film features Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Reecha Sinha and Sikander Kher in supporting roles.
Dhulia’s Milan Talkies has taken a while to come out. The film was first going to be produced by Ekta Kapoor, with Imran Khan in the lead, but both Khan and Kapoor backed out of the project.
Sonakshi Sinha was then approached for the female lead, but that never materialized. Names like Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Aditya Roy Kapur were also linked with the film, but eventually Dhulia made the film with Ali Fazal and Shraddha Srinath.
Fazal was last seen on the big screen in Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi (2018). Shraddha is a known face in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. She is due to make her debut in Telugu cinema, while Milan Talkies will mark her debut in Hindi films.