Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi in Madhur Bhandarkar's romcom

Madhur Bhandarkar, who is all set to start  his first romantic comedy, has signed up Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya of '3 Idiots' fame for his latest film.The director, who was compared with Hrishikesh Mukhejee by none other than Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan, is looking forward to walk the same path which was treaded by the veteran filmmaker in the 70s and 80s.Bhandarkar is all set to follow Mukherjee's route with 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji', which will go on floors this July. The female cast of the movies is yet to be decided but Bhandarkar hopes to rope in 3-4 stars for the same. 

"It is a huge honour to be even talked in the same breath as the filmmaker who has made close to 50 movies. I can challenge that there won't be a single Indian who wouldn't have seen a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film."With 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji' I am looking at doing something very different from my earlier work. This would be a light hearted affair while bringing to fore slice of life," Bhandarkar told PTI.The casting of Devgn, Hashmi and Vaidya has created a stir of sorts in the industry since it is as unique as it gets, especially for a film which comes from the house of Bhandarkar. It is for the first time ever that the filmmaker is attempting a feel good romcom entertainer.

"I know. I have been known for making hard hitting, real and controversial films. However, I always wanted to make a light film like 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji' as well. This is a story of three guys though there would be a definite place for 3-4 girls as well. Their names would be announced in due course," Bhandarkar said.The director wants to wrap up the shooting by September. Soon after that, Bhandarkar would head straight into Kareena Kapoor starrer 'Heroine' which would go on floors in November. 'Heroine' is expected to follow Bhandarkar template of film making and is expected to be a hard hitting affair again."Till that happens, it is going to be 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji' for me. I know that making a film like this is akin to me exploring an un-chartered territory. However, comedy isn't something new to me after all. Even in my so called serious films, there are sections here and there in the narrative where comic moments do come in," the director said.The film wouldn't be a small budget film though and with Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi in the cast, 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji' is expected to be mounted on a reasonable scale. 

A co-production of Bhandarkar Entertainment and Kumar Mangat (of 'Omkara', 'One Two Three' and 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge' fame), 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji' saw a go-ahead coming from its principal cast in the first narration itself."All three actors are so excited about the subject because it is very unusual. Despite his busy schedule, Ajay allocated immediate dates. Emraan too was extremely excited and very accommodative despite the fact that he has 3-4 films lined up for which he begins shooting soon. It's the script which has excited everyone. Also, the movie would be put together very crisply. It is going to be 2 hours and 10 minutes."However, Bhandarkar refuses to call the film as an out-and-out comedy. 

"Were Hrishikesh Mukherjee films comedies? I have  grown on his films. 'Anari', 'Anupama', 'Satyakam', 'Guddi', 'Anand', 'Bawarchi', 'Namak Haram' and 'Golmaal' - just look at the kind of films he has made over the years. There are so many genres that he touched upon; the list is endless. Though many of them were real light hearted affairs, all of them had a slice of life element to them. They were all character based films and same would the case be with 'Dil to Bachcha Hai Ji'."