Cannes do: Sanjay Gupta prepones Aishwarya-Irrfan film

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has preponed the schedule for his next featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Irrfan Khan in order to ensure that the film is ready for screening at Cannes Film Festival next year.

Director Sanjay Gupta’s next project — which stars Irrfan Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan — will now go on the floors in December, as opposed to its earlier schedule of January 2015. The reason for this change is the Cannes Film Festival.

"Sanjay and his team felt that since Aishwarya and Irrfan are well known in the international circuit, it would seem right to wrap up the film, and keep it ready for premiere at Cannes in May 2015. It would give the film an incomparable push," says a source close to the production house.

The makers plan to wrap up the film in three months, starting in December and finishing by February next year. Earlier, Gupta had planned to start another one of his films with John Abraham and Anil Kapoor before this one. But now, he will begin shooting for it only after wrapping up Aishwarya’s comeback flick.

When contacted, Sanjay confirms, saying, "It makes sense to take up the Aishwarya-Irrfan film first, considering the kind of buzz it has created. Also, if we have stars like them, it would be an absolute fit at Cannes. It won’t be an intelligent move if we don’t use such a platform."

Aishwarya, who was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish in 2010, will be seen portraying the role of a lawyer in Gupta’s film, and Irrfan will be playing a suspended cop.