After Mission Mangal’s success, Vidya Balan set to rock again with Vikram Malhotra's ‘Shakuntala Devi’

Shakuntala Devi film poster (Image: Twitter/@vidya_balan)

Mission Mangal is still playing in theatres. It is a known fact that other than Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan was the key pillar of support for the family sci-fi drama that has achieved blockbuster success.

There were four other women in the film (Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Nithya Menen).

However, Shakuntala Devi will be a solo outing.

"This time, she is indeed the designated central protagonist of the film. After all, she is playing the title role in there," says an insider. "Not that she minds playing a key member in an ensemble affair like Mission Mangal or an all-female affair Begum Jaan. It is the depth of the character and the core storyline that matters to her. Mission Mangal was a film that could not have been made with just one female protagonist as it was about a mission that was a collaborative effort. On the other hand Shakuntala Devi needs a strong female lead."

Shakuntala Devi is based on the life of the namesake mathematics genius Devi who was a child prodigy and had gone on to gain fame worldwide.

"This is the third time she is enacting a real life character. Last time, it was the part of Silk Smitha that she played in The Dirty Picture and everyone knows how big a success it turned out to be. For many years, it stayed on to be the highest grossing female centric film. Before that, she had played the part of Jessica Lall's sister Sabrina Lall in No One Killed Jessica. That film too was a success. However, Shakuntala Devi is in a different league altogether. First and foremost, it is an out and out entertainer. Secondly, it is also a family film," says our source.

The film is being directed by Anu Menon who has to her credit a romcom London, Paris, New York (Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari) and a happy-sad drama Waiting (Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin).

"Even for Shakuntala Devi, an exciting supporting cast around Vidya Balan is being put together. For starters, Sanya Malhotra is playing Vidya's daughter. Rest of the cast would be announced soon as well," a source attached to the film confirmed. "Anu is firing all cylinders to make sure that the film reaches out well to the audiences. It is going to be a cool film."

Set to release in the summer of 2020, the film has already gone on floors in London. Vikram Malhotra is producing the film via his banner Abundantia Entertainment. From Airlift to Shakuntala Devi, it has been quite a journey for Vikram as he gears up for one of his most ambitious films till date.

"Shakuntala Devi is special. Back in time, I used to be so intrigued about stories surrounding the genius. Now it is turning out to be a memorable outing for me as Vidya Balan is enacting that very character," says Vikram. "No one has to really debate much about the fabulous actress that she is. The onus is on us to make sure that audiences get to see the real life tale in the kind of narrative that makes it further special. It is going to be a riveting affair indeed and Vidya is the best bet for it."

(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic. Views are personal)