Lucknow: Director Tigmanshu Dhulia six-year wait to make "Milan Talkies" ended today as he began shooting for the film here with Ali Fazal in the lead role.

Shraddha Srinath will make her debut with the film, which also stars Reecha Sinha and Deep Raj Rana, Sanjay Mishra and Ashutosh Rana.

"The first day of shoot of Milan Talkies has begun. I am excited to tell a new story to the audiences. There will be more to talk about as we go further in this journey," Dhulia said in a statement. It was a homecoming for Fazal to shoot in Lucknow.

"It is the first day of shoot and I am really excited to be joining Milan Talkies in my hometown. It is a big step for me in my career that I am working with Tigmanshu sir and the entire team. I am very excited, a lot of new things will be happening for the first time for all of us.

"It feels weird to be shooting in Lucknow. I've lived here, known these gullies, mohallas all my life, never thought I will be shooting here... This is a unique story and a story which is very close to Tigmanshu sir's heart. I am really blessed that I am part of it," the actor said.

Dhulia first started talking about "Milan Talkies" in 2012 and in interviews at that time, he called the film a small town love story. Imran Khan was attached to star at one point but the project could not take off.

Srinath, who has predominantly worked in Kannada and Tamil films, said, "I am very nervous, I may not look but I am very nervous. This is a new industry for me because I come from the South and I don't know the way things work here but I think it is going to be great. I am very happy and proud to be working with some amazing names. I couldn't have had a better start to my Bollywood career."

Produced by PS Chhatwal, Filmy Keeda Productions, and Prakash Bhatt, Purple Bull, the film is set to release this year.  PTI