Shaad Ali returns to direction

(Mumbai Mirror)

After his last directorial debacle Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Shaad Ali had stuck to assisting other filmmakers in their projects.

But now, the filmmaker has decided to give it another shot. His next venture, after Saathiya, Bunty Aur Babli and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom will star Ranveer Singh in the lead role. The film will go on floors later this year.

The development was confirmed by Ranveer's close friend, who responded on the actor's behalf.

Mumbai Mirror has learnt that the film will be produced by Yash Raj Films. This will also mark YRF's third project with Ranveer completing their three-film-deal with the actor. The heroine is still to be decided.

Earlier, Shaad had planned to cast Shahid in his next but the actor didn't show much interest in the filmmaker's offer. In fact, a source close to the production house revealed that even Ranveer wasn't too inclined towards Shaad's film initially. However, now the two of them have sorted out their issues.

"Ranveer and Shaad are now on the same page and ready to work together. They go back a long way. He assisted Shaad in Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom and the two have been close friends since then. It was Shaad who showed Ranveer around in the industry and introduced him to important filmmakers," added the source.

According to the source, Shaad had asked Ranveer to star in his film even before Band Baja Baarat went on floors. Said the source, "Anyway, all's well that ends well. The two of them met recently, had a long chat and decided to go with Shaad's idea."