Sanjay and Ritesh confirmed for 100 Crore project

Bollywood may soon have its first ever film that may be budgeted at close to 100 crores. If writer-director Sujoy Ghosh is to be believed, his next film with Sanjay Dutt and four other leads would have a budget which would surpass the 50 crores benchmark by a big margin.

Recently, there were reports that Sujoy had been signed as a director by Sanjay Dutt for his debut home production. Though Sujoy hadn't denied the story earlier, he hadn't made a conformation statement either. "There was no point talking about it earlier since it was just a basic idea that was being developed. But anyways, let me confirm now that yes, indeed the film is happening. It is going to be something which Bollywood has never seen before. Mr. Dutt has given me a full accountability to develop the script further."

Reportedly, Salman Khan has been signed for the project too. Is it true? "All rumors", says Sujoy without hesitation, "As of now the only two actors who are confirmed for the film are Sanjay Dutt and Ritiesh Deshmukh. Apart from that, even the film's title hasn't been base lined. In fact, I am in lookout for male leads since the film requires four to five heroes."

Getting candid, Sujoy adds, "See, script is of utmost priority right now. This is why no one is in hurry to talk about the star cast or make any other formal announcements. Getting the final version of the script itself would take another 4-5 months. I am glad that Suresh Nair, my constant companion in writing, is doing a lot of hard work on the script while I am busy shooting for Aladin. We have an arrangement working well where he does the writing for the moment. Later, when I would be through with the shooting of Aladin, I start contributing as well."

And when does that happen? "Not before May end", informs Sujoy, "We have the next schedule for the film's shoot beginning in March which would last till the end of May. In fact, the biggest chunk of work would begin only post May since a lot has to go into post production. Aladin is going to be high on CG and VFX and would require a lot of my attention. I am having fun and can't wait to get my baby up and running."