Karan Johar's Shuddhi is one of the most talked about and highly anticipated Bollywood movies in production. The problem is the film has been in limbo recently, as it has struggled to find an actor and actress to play the leads. That is, until now. To producer Johar's great relief, it has been announced that Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt have signed on to star in the film. The duo have great dating chemistry, and they are adored by fans and movie insiders.
There was a ton of speculation regarding casting. At one point, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor were originally slated to be in it, but they both backed out for undisclosed reasons. Salman Khan was rumored to be interested in the film and had been signed to play the male lead, but the uncertainty of his future due to his ongoing trial forced him to withdraw from the project.
Dhawan and Bhatt are good at playing a couple. So much so, they actually started dating for real, after being cast in several movies together, most notably Golivon Ki Rasleeda - Ram Leela, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. They would star in a second Bhansali film as well.
With the leads set, rumors have suggested that Sanjay Dutt has been approached to play the villain in the film. "Sanjay has been approached to play a significant role in the film, and the talks are on," said a source close to the project, though the production company making the film haven't made an official statement.
Since May of 2013, Sanjay Dutt has been serving a 42-month long sentence at Pune's Yerwada jail for illegal possession of weapons during the 1993 Mumbai bomb attacks.
Karan Malhotra, who earlier directed the 2012 remake of 'Agneepath', will handle directing duties. The movie is slated to hit the screens in December 2015.
