Saif Ali Khan's Kalakaandi celebrates Mumbai; to be helmed by Delhi Belly-fame Akshat Verma

After the dismal opening of Vishal Bhardwaj’s romantic war drama Rangoon, the only direction Saif Ali Khan is looking, is forward. While he is currently shooting for Raja Krishna Menon’s Chef, he is also excited for his next release, Kalakaandi, Akshat Verma’s film that celebrates Mumbai. [caption id=“attachment_3296664” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Saif Ali Khan. File Photo[/caption] Pune Mirror quotes Khan as saying, “I’ve lived in Pataudi, Bhopal and Delhi, I have family in Kolkata and have schooled in England, but Mumbai is where I belong. It’s where I was born, where my wife (Kareena Kapoor) was born, where all my three children — Sara, Ibrahim and Taimur — were born. This is my home.” He will be seen translating this love for the city in Kalakaandi that will mark his first collaboration with Verma, who made his directorial debut with the 2011 black comedy Delhi Belly. He will share the screen space with his Chef co-star Sobhita Dhulipala, with whom he has shot two films consecutively. Dhulipala made her acting debut with Anurag Kashyap’s crime drama Raman Raghav 2.0 last year. Pune Mirror reports that Kalakaandi will feature three stories from different strata of society to celebrate the diversity that Mumbai boasts of. Saif plays a straitlaced banker Rileen who has never smoked a cigarette or crossed a red traffic signal. However, when he finds he has cancer, he changes his ways and goes on to hobnob with interesting people. The same reports states that Khan considers the film a slice-of-life film in its truest sense. He says that if his 2001 film, Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, cracked the surface of normality and reality then Kalakaandi celebrates it. Kalakaandi also stars Akshay Oberoi, Amyra Dastur, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Amyra Dastur, Vijay Raaz and Deepal Dobriyal. It is produced by Rohit Khattar and Ashi Dua. It is slated to release on 21 April.