Confirmed: Ranbir Kapoor to romance this hottie in Shamshera, Sanjay Dutt is 'merciless' villain

Ranbir Kapoor's first look in the movie Shamshera made fans more curious about the film. One of the queries was who the female lead of the period drama is. It has now been confirmed that it's Vaani Kapoor.

The makers of Shamshera have finalized Vaani as the lead actress of the film, and she will be seen romancing Ranbir. On the other side, Sanjay Dutt will play the antagonist in the movie.

Shooting of the film will begin by the end of this year, and is expected to be ready by mid next year.

"ITS OFFICIAL... Vaani Kapoor in #Shamshera... Stars Ranbir Kapoor in the title role... Sanjay Dutt to play the merciless villain in the film... Produced by Aditya Chopra... Directed by Karan Malhotra... Starts 2018-end... Shooting will wrap by mid-2019 [sic]," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.

Produced by Yash Raj Films, Shamshera will present Ranbir as a fierce dacoit. Some reports had stated that Vaani will be seen as Ranbir's onscreen wife, and Sanjay as his father. However, there has not been any confirmation on their characters.

This is the first time that Ranbir is playing the role of a dacoit, and the actor is very excited about it. Shamshera is being directed by Karan Malhotra.

"Shamshera is exactly the film I was looking for. While growing up watching Hindi commercial cinema, I had an image of what a film hero should be doing. Shamshera allows me to do everything that I had imagined and it's a very exciting project for me. Karan is going to take me completely out of my comfort zone and I'm looking forward to this challenge," he told a daily earlier.

Meanwhile, Ranbir is all geared up for his next release Sanju. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the biopic on Sanjay Dutt's life is another much awaited film. It will show Dutt's controversial life. Ranbir's look made fans even more curious to watch the film. Sanju is slated for June 29 release.