Deepika among finest actors, Irrfan a favourite: Vishal Bhardwaj

Ace filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who will be working with Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan in his next film, said he considers Deepika as one of the finest actors in the country at present while Irrfan is one of his favourites.

"I am really looking forward to working with Deepika, she is one of the finest actors right now and Irrfan has been one of my favourites. So I am really excited to work with them," Bhardwaj told IANS on the sidelines of a session on his new book of poems at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival.

The filmmaker, who will be working for the first time with Deepika, said the script of the film was written well in advance and he is not at all sceptical about casting her in his next project despite the recent controversy surrounding her upcoming film "Padmavat".

"This is a script I wrote two years back so I am really not sceptical about anything," he said.

The "Rangoon" director also welcomed the emergence of digital media in the country for its "good content" and said more such platforms are necessary to reach out to a larger audience.

"Of course it is a good trend. No matter how many platforms come up for the films, I feel there is always room for more. Also, they are coming up with such good content. Everyone is hooked on to some or the other show on Netflix. So the more the merrier," he said.

Bhardwaj, who is also a renowned music composer, said music is equally close to his heart.

About his emergence as a writer with his maiden book "Nude", a collection of poems, Bhardwaj said: "I will keep writing and I think in every two three years I will come up with a book of poems."