Shradda Kapoor is barely one film old — her debut Teen Patti is still to hit the marquee — but she has already been signed for another film being produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film, My Friend Pinto will be directed by Raghav Dar, who earlier assisted Mani Ratnam (Guru) and then was associate director on Abbas Tyrewala’s Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. The film stars Pratik in the lead, and if the grapevine is to be believed, his onscreen love interest may be more than just a co-star in real life.
Incidentally, Shraddha is Bollywood baddie Shakti Kapoor’s daughter. “The film requires new faces. After Pratik was finalised for the male lead, the production house was auditioning for the female lead. Several girls were screentested and a few were shortlisted, but it was Shraddha who caught director Raghav and Bhansali’s eye. Pratik has already started with a workshop for the film and Shraddha is also getting under the skin of her character,” says a source.
But the buzz is that Pratik and Shraddha have been good friends for some time now and often hang out together. While Raghav could not be reached for comment, Shraddha preferred to be non-committal. “I cannot comment on it, but I would love to work with Bhansali sir.” The movie also stars Manisha Koirala in a pivotal role.