Titled Daasdev, the film stars Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari and Rahul Bhat in the lead roles and was initially set to hit theatres on February 16. It has now been postponed to March 9.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, who has come up with a modern twist to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic novel Devdas, unveiled the first poster of his Film Friday morning, revealing the star cast and a shift in the release date. Titled Daasdev, the film stars Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari and Rahul Bhat in the lead roles and was initially set to hit theatres on February 16. It has now been postponed to March 9.

The film will also feature Mukkabaaz star Vineet Kumar Singh, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and notable actors Vipin Sharma and Saurabh Shukla in pivotal roles. Talking about his film, Mishra told a press statement, “We started with one of my friend telling me why you don’t do Devdas? I started working on it with a fellow writer and suddenly things started changing. I started feeling that Hamlet and Devdas were similar stories and then the Indian political situations came up and it became like a reverse journey of Devdas. I took the three characters of Devdas; Dev, Paro, and Chandramukhi. As I was working, Shakespeare intruded and I allowed him to. Ultimately, it became a film about power as it gets in the way of love. I am glad that finally my film has a release date — March 9 — and all the hard work that my team has put in will be paid off.”

Set in the hinterlands of India, Daasdev aims to bring some refreshing avatars and is a love saga set amid the political background of Uttar Pradesh. The film is said to follow a path “contrary to the plot of the classic novel and is a romantic thriller that talks about addiction to power and love”.

Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays Chandni — Sudhir Mishra’s Chandramukhi — explained her role and said, “My character Chandni redefines the iconic character Chandramukhi as an empowered woman of this generation, a woman who is not confined by rules. Her inherent goodness, strength and ability to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done will reach out to women across India. Women who want to live their lives on their terms without being judged, who are unapologetic of who they are, who they strive to be and what they want from life. Women who are the masters of their destiny and who embrace the conflicts within them and celebrate themselves. With Sudhir Mishra helming this unique and powerful film, Daasdev has been a very challenging experience for me. Working alongside incredibly talented actors is always inspiring. I have found each moment of this journey enriching and have hopefully learnt and imbibed a lot as an actor!”