Kareena Kapoor, Dhanush to star in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next? Director PS Mithran gives update

Director S Mithran confirms talks for Kareena Kapoor Khan and Dhanush's upcoming mythological film produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Speculations about Kareena Kapoor Khan working in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next film have been doing the rounds for some time. Now, director S Mithran has shared an update on the same. It was previously reported that Dhanush and Kareena are in advanced talks for a Hindi film, which will be produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and directed by PS Mithran.

Kareena Kapoor, Dhanush to star in a film together.

Kareena, Dhanush to star in Bhansali's film?

S Mithran, who is currently busy with the promotions of his latest film Sardar 2, spoke about the upcoming project with Kareena and Dhanush and told Cinema Vikatan, “Talks are underway, we are looking at the dates for confirmation. Hopefully, something good will come out of it."

As per reports, this will be a large-scale mythological jungle adventure. According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, the film is currently in the writing stage and the script has undergone multiple rewrites before being finalised. It is also expected that the film's pre-production will begin in November 2026, with principal photography planned for January 2027.

Kareena's fallout with Bhansali

If this project works out, it will mark a lot of firsts for the film's cast and crew. It will be Mithran's directorial debut in Hindi cinema, as well as the first onscreen pairing of Dhanush and Kareena Kapoor Khan. It will also mark Kareena's first collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali after their fallout in the early 2000s.

In the 2000s, Bhansali had approached Kareena for Devdas, and she also did a screen test for the same. However, he instead went ahead with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play the character of Paro. In a chat with Filmfare in 2002, Kareena said, “What he did to me was wrong. He screen-tested me for Devdas, gave me a signing amount, then took someone else. That was wrong, it hurt especially because I was at the start of my career.”

Bhansali, on the other hand, had claimed that it was not him but Kareena who had approached him for the role. He did the screen test, but it was not a mark of certainty that she would be cast in the film.

“After going through the photographs, I told Kareena that I felt Aishwarya Rai was fabulous and perfect for Paro; she has the aristocratic looks I required. Kareena didn’t say a word then but some days later I found her lashing out at me in print. She accused me of backing out after having given her the signing amount and contract. Believe me, this is not true,” he had said.

Kareena's next film

Kareena will next be seen in Daayra. The film is directed by Meghna Gulzar and co-stars Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film is scheduled for release on September 18.