After much speculation about who would star opposite Kartik Aaryan in Anurag Basu’s upcoming musical, the makers recently unveiled the first look of the film. 

The video reveals Sreeleela as the female lead. This will mark her Bollywood debut alongside the Shehzada actor. In addition to announcing Sreeleela’s role, the makers also revealed Kartik’s look in the movie.

The video shows Kartik in a rugged rockstar avatar, complete with long hair and a beard. He is seen playing the guitar and singing Tu Meri Zindagi Hai in front of a large audience. As the video progresses, viewers are treated to glimpses of the passionate romance between Kartik and Sreeleela. 

One scene shows her hugging Kartik while riding a bike with him, while another depicts them sitting outside a cosy cabin, where Kartik strums the guitar as Sreeleela listens attentively. A final clip showcases a tender moment between the two.

Earlier, there were rumours suggesting that Triptii Dimri was being considered for the female lead role. However, reports claimed she was dropped due to her “overexposed” and “overtly sexualised” image after her appearance in Animal alongside Ranbir Kapoor. 

Anurag Basu, however, dismissed these claims in an interview with HT City, saying, “Image was not the reason. I am the last person to judge an actor based on the characters they’ve played. Aashiqui wasn’t even part of the story anymore. I don’t know where these stories came from. The most important factor was dates-Triptii was already shooting for a film with Vishal Bhardwaj, and my film was starting this month. She is still my best friend, and I really admire her as an actress. You should ask her about what happened.”

On the work front, Kartik Aaryan was last seen in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 which was released on Diwali last year. Surprisingly, Anurag Basu’s musical will also release on Diwali this year.

Sreeleela, on the other hand, was last seen in the dance number Kissik from Pushpa 2: The Rule, starring Allu Arjun. If reports are to be believed, she will also star alongside Ibrahim Ali Khan in her next Bollywood film. Additionally, she is all set to make her Tamil debut alongside Sivakarthikeyan in Parasakthi.