Dhanush and Kareena Kapoor are in advanced talks for a Hindi film produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, which will be directed by S Mithran, the director confirmed in a recent interview. Dhanush and Kareena have never shared screen space, and both have never worked with Bhansali previously.

“Talks are underway, we are looking at the dates for confirmation. Hopefully, something good will come out of it,” shared S Mithran, in a chat with Cinema Vikatan, while promoting his upcoming sequel Sardar 2.

The project, which has been generating buzz across Bollywood and South Indian circles since early August, is reportedly a large-scale mythological jungle adventure. According to Bollywood Hungama, the film is currently in the writing stage, with the script having undergone multiple rewrites before being finalised. Pre-production is expected to begin in November 2026, with principal photography planned for January 2027. If the project goes ahead, it would mark Mithran’s Bollywood directorial debut.

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Adding to the intrigue around the project is the reported involvement of Kareena Kapoor. Kareena and Bhansali had a major rift back in the early 2000s when he tested her for Devdas, but cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Paro. In a chat with Filmfare in 2002, Kareena said, “What he did to me was wrong. He screen-tested me for Devdas, gave me a signing amount, then took someone else. That was wrong, it hurt especially because I was at the start of my career.”

Bhansali, however, gave another version of the story and said that Kareena approachd him for the role, and he set up a test shoot for her as he had not seen her work until then. He emphasised that he made it clear that the test shoot was not a confirmation for being cast. “After going through the photographs, I told Kareena that I felt Aishwarya Rai was fabulous and perfect for Paro; she has the aristocratic looks I required. Kareena didn’t say a word then but some days later I found her lashing out at me in print. She accused me of backing out after having given her the signing amount and contract. Believe me, this is not true.”

Kareena has not been officially signed for the role, and no announcement has been made from her side. She is currently attached to Daayra, Meghna Gulzar’s crime thriller co-starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, which is scheduled for release on September 18.

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For Dhanush, the project would add another major Hindi film to a slate that has increasingly moved between Tamil and Bollywood. He recently had a major hit in Bollywood with Aanand L Rai’s 2025 film Tere Ishk Mein.