Shraddha Kapoor starrer Saina Nehwal biopic postponed, not shelved

Badminton fans can heave a sigh of relief. The Saina Nehwal biopic that was rumoured to be shelved is actually on hold. Shraddha Kapoor, who will play badminton champion Saina Nehwal, has decided to squeeze in director Shree Narayan Singh’s Batti Gul Meter Chalu, before starting the Nehwal biopic.

Says a source close to the development, “When Shraddha was offered Batti Gul Meter Chalu, she immediately fell in love with her character and the film. But the dates were clashing with the Nehwal biopic. A solution was worked out between producers Prernaa Arora of Batti Gul… and producer Bhushan Kumar who’s co-producing both Batti Gul… and the Saina Nehwal biopic. Bhushan agreed to postpone his film by a few months to accommodate Prernaa’s film into Shraddha’s schedule.”

Shraddha Kapoor

Apparently she loved her role so much that she not only agreed to postpone working on the Nehwal biopic but also agreed to take a pay cut for the chance to work with the director of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.

The actress will start Batti Gul... in April and will begin shooting for the Nehwal biopic from September 1 with director Amole Gupte. Meanwhile, Shraddha is excited about getting to play a small town girl opposite Shahid Kapoor in Batti Gul...

The last time she came together with Shahid was in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, in which her performance wasn’t up to the mark. Batti Gul... is Shraddha’s chance to redeem her onscreen partnership with Shahid Kapoor.