Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama drops a retro cabaret look for Bhatt, and her sister-in-law showed up in the comments to say so.
Alia Bhatt has a new poster out, and Kareena Kapoor Khan got there first with the verdict.
The makers of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love & War released Bhatt's second character look on Thursday, this one built around a retro-styled cabaret setup. It follows her first poster, which put her in what Bollywood Hungama described as a new-generation cabaret avatar. Two looks in, and the film hasn't even told us who she's playing.
Kapoor Khan wasn't waiting for that either. She dropped into the comments with "Killingggg it Alooooooo," which is about as close to a Bhansali stamp of approval as you can get from inside the family. Bhatt is her sister-in-law, married to Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena's cousin.
The visual grammar tracks. Gold light, stage backdrop, the kind of period glamour Bhansali has built entire careers around, from Gangubai to Heeramandi. Whether Love & War leans into that same world or does something new with it is still anyone's guess. The posters aren't saying much beyond mood.
What they are doing is building toward something. Ranbir Kapoor's looks went up first, then Bhatt's two, and the drip has been steady enough that social media hasn't stopped talking about the film since the reveals began. Vicky Kaushal, the third lead, is still owed his moment. Nobody at the studio has confirmed exactly when that lands, but the pattern so far suggests it won't take long.
Love & War brings together Kapoor, Bhatt and Kaushal under Bhansali for the first time as a trio, and that alone would have made this a talked-about project even without the poster campaign. Add Bhansali's usual visual ambition and a wide theatrical release, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, all at once, and you can see why the marketing team is stretching this out poster by poster instead of dumping a trailer and moving on.
The film is dated for January 21, 2027, which puts a long runway between now and release. That's plenty of time for more looks, more reactions, and presumably at least one more comment from someone in the Kapoor family. For now, the second poster has done its job. It's got people talking about a costume choice sixteen months before they'll actually see the film.
Next up, by most accounts, is Kaushal's reveal. Whether that arrives this week or drags into next remains the only real cliffhanger in a campaign that otherwise seems to know exactly what it's doing.
Be the first to comment
Join the argument. No password, just your email or a passkey.