Exclusive! Sahir Ludhianvi biopic: Shah Rukh Khan to play the legendary poet-lyricist?

Sahir Ludhianvi's biopic, which has been in the offing since almost eight years now, is making news again. Last heard, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was toying with the idea of making it with Abhishek Bachchan or Irrfan Khan in the lead. Rumour has it that it is now on the tables of Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. It is, however, not yet known whether Shah Rukh will play the legendary lyricist but we wouldn't be surprised if he does.
For those not in the know, Jasmeet Reen, writer-director of the film on Ludhianvi's life, has struggled a lot to put the project together.Before Bhansali, Ashi Dua (of 'Ghost Stories' and 'Kaalakaandi') was supposed to produce it. Farhan Akhtar, Irrfan Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan were supposed to play Ludhianvi-each at different points in time. On the other hand, the names of Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, and Taapsee Pannu, had cropped up to play Amrita Pritam, who had a strong affection for Ludhianvi. It will be interesting to see if SRK will indeed come on board.
Last evening, at around 6 pm, we managed to reach Jasmeet after repeated attempts. When asked if Shah Rukh Khan had shown interest in the Ludhianvi biopic, she simply said, "I'll call you back. I am busy in a meeting for now." Till the time of going online, 16 hours later, she was yet to call back. She chose not to respond to text messages too.
March 8, 2021, will mark the 100th birth anniversary of Sahir Ludhianvi.