It could be crossover Bollywood's most exciting combination this year. The buzz is that superstar Ranbir Kapoor is all set to sign new-age arthouse maverick Dibakar Banerjee's new film, which the director plans to make for Yash Raj Films later this year. The project is slated to be the first of Dibakar's three-film deal with YRF. While details of the deal have been kept under wraps, all that is known right now is that Dibakar will direct two of these films while the third will be directed by his long-time associate Kanu Behl. Sources in the trade say that Dibakar has already approached Ranbir with the story idea and the actor seems interested in the project. He is expected to give a confirmation only when he agrees with the final draft of the script. However, YRF is officially being tight-lipped about the project.

"All we can say right now is that the slate of the co-productions with Dibakar Banerjee has not been locked. We have not started casting and it is premature to comment," said Rafiq Gangjee, vice-president (marketing and communications), YRF. YRF, though, is known for its secretive ways. The company, which operates with a strict professional code of conduct, is not known to confirm or deny reports till an official statement is made to the press on any project. The buzz about Ranbir doing a Dibakar film gained ground all the more because lately, the actor has emerged as a darling of filmmakers who prefer to think out of the box.

The budding superstar has already signed Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet, after impressing all with his unconventional avatar of a deafmute boy in Anurag Basu's Barfi! last year. About the three films that Dibakar will be making for YRF, the director has said that he will not be departing from his usual cinematic idiom of gritty realism, although the banner is traditionally associated with larger-than-life, feel-good fare. If all goes as planned, Dibakar's film with Ranbir might go on floors by the end of 2013 or in early 2014. Dibakar's filmography so far comprises the satires Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, besides the found-footage experiment Love Sex Aur Dhokha and the cerebral political thriller Shanghai.