Bollywood megastars and real-life power couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt will star alongside Vicky Kaushal in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Love & War.”
Kapoor debuted as a leading man with Bhansali’s romance “Saawariya” (2007), a Fyodor Dostoevsky adaptation. Bhatt headlined Bhansali’s women empowerment saga “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” which bowed at the 2022 Berlinale. They starred together in Disney’s sci-fi mythological superhero film “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” (2022).
Bhansali is known for his grand cinematic vision and “Love & War” is billed as an “epic saga.” No other details are currently available.
Both Kapoor and Bhatt had successful outings at the box office in 2023. Kapoor headlined Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s blood-soaked action-drama “Animal.” Bhatt starred alongside Ranveer Singh in Karan Johar’s family drama “Rocky Aur Rani kii Prem Kahaani.” Both films placed in India’s Top 10 for the year. Bhatt also had a leading role in Tom Harper’s spy thriller Netflix film “Heart of Stone.”
Kaushal also had a stellar 2023 starring alongside Shah Rukh Khan in Rajkumar Hirani’s 2023 Top 10 hit, illegal immigration drama-comedy “Dunki,” and in Meghna Gulzar’s Indian military biopic “Sam Bahadur,” which was a critical and commercial success.
“An eternal cinema dream has come true,” Kaushal said in an Instagram post. Bhatt added: “Back with the best… my favourite kind of reunion. Can’t wait…”
“Love & War” is due a Christmas 2025 release. The film is from Bhansali Productions. The other companies involved in the film have not been revealed yet.
Bhansali’s Netflix series “Heeramandi” set in pre-independent, undivided India, in the Heeramandi area of Lahore, which is now in Pakistan, is due this year. It will explore themes of love, betrayal, succession and politics in the ‘kothas’ or bordellos of Heeramandi through three generations of courtesans. The filmmaker’s trademark larger than life sets and operatic compositions will very much be in evidence.
