It was rumoured last month that actor Parth Samthaan had quit the popular TV show Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 to focus on his Bollywood projects. According to recent reports, Parth has been cast opposite Alia Bhatt in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. He will be playing Alia’s lover in the film, reports claim. 

Gangubai Kathiawadi is adapted from one of the stories in Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The biographical drama stars Alia as Gangubai, a brothel owner and matriarch from the 60s. She was forced into prostitution at a young age and had a soft corner for the girls in Kamathipura, Mumbai’s red light district and migrant colony.

The first look poster of Gangubai Kathiawadi was unveiled earlier this year. The film was expected to be out on September 11 but the release has been pushed due to the pandemic. It marks Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s first directorial after 2018’s Padmavat, and his first collaboration with Alia.