Actor Saba Ali Khan signed on for mega-budget film based on Shraddha Walkar murder case story

MUMBAI: In a significant development, the cute, talented and bubbly 21-year-old actor Saba Ali Khan who has done several regional movies particularly in the South (Tamil and Telugu) and Bhojpuri is now once again back with a bang with a new mega project in her bag.

She has been signed on by director Maneesh F Singh for a movie inspired by the sensational and horrific murder story of Shraddha Walkar – who was murdered (and her body cut up into several pieces) by her live-in boyfriend Aftab Poonawala.

While Singh refused to share any details about the project, sources said its a mega-budget film and the estimated spend is around Rs 350 to Rs 400 crore. Singh’s production house Vrindaavan Films had announced the movie a year ago, but it hit a roadblock after a court threw a spanner into the making of the movie script. Now with all permissions and approvals in place, Singh is all set to take his project to the ultimate conclusion and begin shooting for the project next month.

Coming back to Saba Ali Khan, she is not new to controversy. The actress who has done hundreds of music videos, besides films, left a lucrative and flourishing career to get married to a businessman – something which was widely reported in the press.

However, what was not mentioned or covered later on was the fact that the actress divorced after less than 10 days of her marriage in very depressing circumstances; and while she has refused to speak about it, her close friend revealed that Saba was trapped in a Love Jihad-like situation with a fanatic man who lied to her from day one.

Luckily, her parents and family supported her completely and she was able to get a divorce and is now back to work. According to director Maneesh F Singh, “when I heard about Saba Ali Khan’s situation and divorce, I immediately decided to sign her on as the main lead for my movie, which is inspired by the gruesome and dastardly murder of Shraddha Walkar that stunned the nation last year.”

For those who came in late, Singh had announced the movie last year, but was forced to put it on the back-burner after a case was filed about the privacy rights of the murder accused Aftab Poonawala. Now with the stay lifted and the case dismissed, Singh will start shooting the movie after Diwali next month, he said, adding that Saba Ali Khan has been signed on in the main lead role for the project. He however refused to reveal the name of the film, saying that he will speak to the media at the right time.