Ranveer plays a rapper in Zoya's Next!

In the tentatively-titled Gully Boy, which is presently being scripted by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, the 30-yearold actor is set to play an underdog who rises from the slums of Mumbai to become a rapper with a heart and a voice that addresses Dalit oppression, street life, economic inequality and homosexuality. He even takes on corrupt politicians.

"The film is inspired by real life rappers like Divine and Naezy whose work has ranged from speaking about petty crimes in their respective Mumbai neighbourhoods of Kurla and Andheri to sharing stories about finding a voice and becoming activists. It is an extremely ambitious project and will roll next year," reveals a source close to the development.

As part of their research, Zoya and Reema have been hanging out with both the rappers and the duo has helped shape the script in a significant way. The rappers had paid an ode to the Maximum City in 2011, which was followed by "Meri Gully Main", a take on street life and "Jungli Sher" which portrayed personal struggles.

The film also draws extensively from the works of other politically incorrect rappers, including Muck Fodi (Ashwini Mishra) whose music focuses on politician-bashing, Kolkatabased Vik Sen aka Feyago who won 2014's best hip-hop underground artist award at the country's most popular music awards, Bangalore-based Brodha V aka Vignesh Shivanand whose last hit "Aigiri Nandini" was a remix of a Sanskrit devotional song of the same name and BK from Tripura who rose to fame in 2013 with "The Journey", which reportedly crossed over one million views on YouTube.

"The film will feature another actor, who will be seen in a parallel lead alongside Ranveer.Casting for the role is yet to be finalised," adds the source.

Zoya and Ranveer have been vocal about their fondness for each other and often expressed a desire to team up ever since they got together for their 2015 summer release, Dil Dhadakne Do. Meanwhile, Ranveer is currently locked away in Paris, filming his December romance with leading lady Vaani Kapoor, and is expected to be back in B-town by June-end. Before taking off, Ranveer was spotted in a good mood as he exited Zoya's residence on March 11 following a five-hour meeting with the makers.

"Upon his return, Ranveer is expected to roll with another film after which he will shift gears and rap in Urdu, Hindi and Marathi for Zoya's hard-hitting next," adds the source.Zoya and Ranveer remained unavailable for comment.