Sanjay Leela Bhansali's long-cherished project, Baiju Bawra, may not have materialized, but that is not slowing him down or diverting him from the world of cinema. The maverick Indian filmmaker has announced an even more ambitious historical drama, Love And War, featuring a much-bigger, star-studded cast including Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. Bhansali is looking at taking it on floor in the last quarter of this year, targeting a wide theatrical release on the Christmas weekend of 2025.

Love And War is the second project Bhansali is working on alongside his maiden web series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, scheduled to premiere on Netflix in the middle of 2024. Adding to his illustrious repertoire, Bhansali has now set his sights on a new romantic drama starring Mrunal Thakur and Siddhant Chaturvedi. PeepingMoon.com has learned that the yet-untitled film will go on floors in Mumbai in April.

“Mrunal Thakur and Siddhant Chaturvedi play musicians in this majestic tale of love, directed by Ravi Udyawar of Mom fame. It's a pure romance drama set in a contemporary world and backed by soulful compositions. Mrunal, who has captured the hearts of the Indian youth with films like Sita Raman and Hi Nanna, will continue her streak in the romance genre with this film, and romancing her on-screen this time is Siddhant, popularly known for his breakthrough performance in Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy. Their fresh on-screen chemistry only adds to the excitement for this SLB production,” a source with knowledge of the development told us.

Mrunal will commence shooting for this film after completing A.R. Murugadoss’s Tamil action entertainer with Sivakarthikeyan. She has already finished shooting for Vijay Deverakonda’s VD13 and also has Navjot Gulati’s thriller drama, Pooja Meri Jaan, lined up ahead. Meanwhile, Siddhant is currently filming Dharma Productions' next love story alongside Triptii Dimri and has Excel Entertainment’s action drama, Yudhra, slated for release in mid-2024. Bhansali is also working on several more production ventures, including the highly anticipated Rowdy Rathore 2.