Ranbir & Katrina in Anurag Basu's next!

Calcutta will host Bollywood's hottest young jodi this monsoon as Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif camp here for Anurag Basu's film.

"Haan, amaar shohorey shooting korbo," smiled the Life in a' Metro maker, in his hometown on Tuesday to do a cameo in Onir's short film I Am Afia.

"I have always wanted to shoot in Calcutta but every time something or the other has gone wrong," said Anurag. "Metro 2 was planned in Calcutta but then Kites (the Hrithik Roshan starrer finally due for release in May) happened...."

The yet-to-be-titled film, co-produced by UTV and Anurag's Ishana Movies, will be a love story, but not in the Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani mould. "It's a bit complicated with lots and lots of layers.... Besides Calcutta, I will shoot extensively in north Bengal in the rains. All my films have been in the urban milieu but this one will be a bit different."

Sources reveal that the film will be set in two periods ' the 1970s and now ' with both being shot here. "I don't like shooting in studios and want to capture the essence of the city. So I am looking for locations where I can shoot peacefully," said Anurag.

That is easier said than done in star-struck Calcutta. "Yes, there might be a practical problem in shooting with the big stars here," the director nodded.

Besides Ranbir and Katrina, the film will have another girl, preferably from Calcutta. "I really want to cast somebody from here. I watch Bengali television a lot in Mumbai and I really believe there's a lot of untapped talent in Calcutta."

So what did didn't happen in Gangster can happen here? "Yes, I had come here to find someone for Gangster but it didn't work out [Koel Mullick was the chosen one but she has turned it down] and we went ahead with Kangana. This time I will take more time and hopefully find someone."

In fact, "the hidden agenda" for Anurag agreeing to do the bit role of a doctor in Onir's short was to do some pre-production work for his film in the city. "I am carrying it out quietly but I will have to come back two-three times more," he revealed.

So, when is Calcutta's date with the ghazab jodi? "It should be in July, depends when Ranbir ' "a bright boy" ' is done with his next film [with Imtiaz Ali]."