Love And War: When Imtiaz Ali Wanted To Cast Alia-Ranbir For 'Battle' Film Before Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Sanjay Leela Bhansali took everyone by surprise when he announced his upcoming project Love and War, starring Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal as the leads. The film reunites the ace director with Ranbir Kapoor after 17 years and marks the filmmaker’s first collaboration with Vicky Kaushal. The film is slated to release on Christmas 2025. However, years ago, it was Imtiaz Ali who first envisioned Ranbir and Alia in a film set against the backdrop of war.

Many years ago, while promoting his film with Alia, Highway, Imtiaz roped in Ranbir for a video featuring the three of them taking a journey on a truck. Ranbir asked Imtiaz what kind of film would he make with Ranbir and Alia. Imtiaz said, “Somehow something… I’ll give you some images. A guy from outside – a battle-type situation – with a past that we don’t know. This girl, much there, we know everything about her and an interaction between them, a relationship between them.”

The clip has resurfaced on social media after Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s announcement. It went viral in no time. It was captioned, “Imtiaz Ali saw the potential Ranbir and Alia against a war backdrop YEARS AGO and Sanjay Leela Bhansali will now bring it to life. This is what dreams are made of ♥️.”

As for Love and War, the news about the film came a day after Pinkvilla reported that Ranbir and Sanjay were in talks for a project. “To set things straight, it’s an original love story and not Inshallah. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been very keen to take a step back from the period drama’s intense tone. He has been looking to make a love story, and this subject has been at the back of his mind for a while now. SLB feels this is the best time to make a love story and is very excited to tap this genre,” the source shared.

With Love and War, Ranbir and Vicky reunite on the big screen after Sanju and Ranbir and Alia are paired together after Brahmastra.