O'Romeo was once Sapna Didi! How Vishal Bhardwaj revived his shelved film with Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "O'Romeo was once Sapna Didi! How Vishal Bhardwaj revived his shelved film with Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri")
Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri Photograph: (Instagram)
O'Romeo, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri, has released in the theatres. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film was originally meant to feature Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan. Read on to know why.
Vishal Bhardwaj’s O'Romeo has been creating a buzz since its announcement. The romantic action thriller was released on Friday and immediately drew attention for its dark, intense themes. While fans appear to love Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri in the lead roles, do you know O'Romeo is a creative rebirth of Bhardwaj’s long-shelved passion project, Sapna Didi?
Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan in the film
In 2017, Vishal Bhardwaj announced a film titled Sapna Didi, a biographical crime drama inspired by journalist-author S. Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The project was set to feature Deepika Padukone as underworld queen Rahima Khan (popularly known as Sapna Didi) and the late Irrfan Khan as gangster Hussain Ustara.
However, the film came to a halt after completing a part of its shooting schedule in 2018 due to Irrfan Khan’s health diagnosis. The actor's passing in 2020 gave a devastating blow to the film, and reportedly, creative differences with director Honey Trehan further complicated matters.
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Earlier in interviews, Pankaj Tripathi had also confirmed that he was a part of the original cast and had begun shooting before the project was stalled.
The story of O'Romeo
Years later, Bhardwaj shifted the focus to the hitman’s perspective instead of the female protagonist, and O'Romeo, a Shakespearean-influenced crime drama, was born. Set in Mumbai’s 1980s underworld, it features Shahid Kapoor as Haseen Ustara, a character inspired by Hussain Ustara, while Triptii Dimri plays Afsha, reportedly drawn from Rahima Khan’s life.
Speaking about the two films at the trailer launch, Bhardwaj said, "That script and the cast were different, but this is a different film. This film is titled O'Romeo. When I first started working on it, I never thought we would have this title. The story evolved and underwent many changes. This film has nothing to do with the earlier film."
About O'Romeo
O'Romeo revolves around a woman seeking revenge against underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, played by Nana Patekar, after her husband’s murder. She then joins hands with Ustara, who trains her in combat and underworld strategy.
The film also stars Avinash Tiwary, Tamannaah Bhatia, Farida Jalal, Disha Patani, Vikrant Massey, Randeep Hooda, and Shakti Kapoor in key roles. O'Romeo is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, and the film marks the fourth collaboration between Bhardwaj and Shahid Kapoor after Kaminey, Haider, and Rangoon.
