Meena Kumari biopic: Siddharth P Malhotra on casting Vidya Balan, “Only worry is she has to be 18 to 24 years old in the first half”

By Subhash K. Jha -

November 27, 2024 - 1:01 PM IST

The Amrohi family has breathed a sigh of relief after costume designer Manish Malhotra backed down from the proposed biopic of Meena Kumari starring Kriti Sanon in the titular role.

Meena Kumari biopic: Siddharth P Malhotra on casting Vidya Balan, “Only worry is she has to be 18 to 24 years old in the first half”

A close friend of Malhotra spilled the beans about the aborted project. “It was a misadventure from the word go. How could Manish direct a Meena Kumari biopic? The project needed someone with a deep understanding of cinema and with sense of epic grandeur like Sanjay Leela Bhansali. As for Kriti Sanon, with due respects, she is way too contemporary in look and personality to clutch the classic dimensions of Meena Kumari. The project was doomed from the start. Plus, there was severe pressure from the Amrohi family. Manish had to back down,” said the source.

The Meena Kumari biopic will now be directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, who recently helmed Aamir Khan’s son Junaid’s debut film Maharaja. A source close to the development informed, “The Amrohi family is happy to back the Meena Kumari biopic with Siddharth P Malhotra as director. Vidya Balan is a very strong contender for the actress’ part. She is the right fit in every sense.”

When this writer touched base with Kamal Amrohi’s son Tajdar Amrohi, he said he was never apprehensive of the Malhotra-Sanon threat. “Koi sawaal hi nahin ttha. Itna asaan hai kya?”

When I asked Tajdar Amrohi if Vidya Balan was the family’s choice to play the magnificent Meena Kumari, he said, “That is not my decision. It is up to the director Siddharth P Malhotra, composer A R Rahman, who is doing the music score, Kausar Munir, who is writing the film and my son Bilal, who is co-producer of the project with Saregama. As for Vidya, I really like her.”

Director Siddharth P Malhotra agreed Vidya Balan is the right fit. He said, “Yes, the only worry is in my film, she has to be 18 to 24 for the first half. That de-aging process makes things look very plastic. The second half is a 25 to 38 journey. The film will be an 18 to 38 journey and if we do anything gimmicky in such a film, we will get lynched. Too many eyes are already on us! Which is why we are first working on each scene, then dialogues. Getting seniors’ approvals too and then will cast in January once we have a fully locked script.”

Also Read: Ila Arun reveals she sees Meena Kumari in Vidya Balan; dedicates special section for latter in her autobiography Parde Ke Peechhey