Shamshera: YRF pulls off a casting coup; Sanjay Dutt signed as villain in Ranbir Kapoor's dacoit drama

Sanjay Dutt has now joined Karan Malhotra’s dacoit drama _Shamshera_ , starring Ranbir Kapoor in the titular role, in what will be the actor’s maiden film with Yash Raj Films. [caption id=“attachment_4442875” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt[/caption] The movie, which is expected to go on floors by the end of this year, has already released its logo on twitter, touting Ranbir Kapoor in a never seen before avatar. To match up to Ranbir Kapoor’s star power, Dutt as been roped in as the villain, according to the director. “Shamshera is a ferocious and fearless character in the film. Therefore his nemesis, the villain had to be even more fierce and monumental in every aspect. Who better than Sanjay sir to give us that impact on screen?” said Karan Malhotra, according to a statement issued by Yash Raj Films. The pairing comes at an opportune time as Ranbir is soon going to be busy promoting Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic titled _Sanju,_ slated for a 29 June release. The actor claims to idolise Dutt and has been quoted in the past saying, “I was always a Sanjay Dutt fan. So for me, it was like a fan trying to play his icon on-screen. And to tell his story and be him was quite incredible. I have observed him all my life. I try to do this for every film.” Shamshera is equally special for Dutt. “My father and Yash (Chopra) uncle were very close friends and now that I’m doing my first YRF film, it is an extremely emotional moment for me. When I hear Karan’s idea to pit Ranbir against me, I thought it was just brilliant. I’m looking forward to shooting this incredibly exciting film, my second with the hugely talented Karan Malhotra,” says Dutt, who has previously starred as the villain Kancha Cheena in Malhotra’s directorial debut Agneepath. (Also read — Sanju: Official trailer for Rajkumar Hirani's biopic starring Ranbir Kapoor likely to release in third week of May)