Sanjay Leela Bhansali is revealing Love & War one character at a time, and Alia Bhatt’s first poster offers a very different side of the film from the bruised, battle-worn image used to introduce Ranbir Kapoor.
Bhansali Productions unveiled Bhatt’s first look on September 25, placing her at the center of a lavish stage drenched in red and gold. She wears a dramatic performance outfit with a thigh-high slit, elaborate feathered headgear and styling strongly reminiscent of retro cabaret sequences from Hindi cinema.
The production house accompanied the reveal with the line: “Aag bhi, dilon ki jaan bhi! Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War on 21st January 2027.”
The poster hints at a different world from Ranbir Kapoor’s
What makes Bhatt’s reveal more interesting is the contrast created by the film’s poster rollout.
Ranbir Kapoor’s first look, released a day earlier, placed him behind the wheel of a vintage convertible with slicked-back hair, a moustache and a visibly bloodied arm. The image emphasized injury and danger while maintaining the same period aesthetic.
Bhatt’s poster goes in the opposite direction: stage lights, feathers, glitter and theatrical glamour.
It is tempting to conclude from the image that she plays a cabaret dancer or performer, and several outlets have described the look that way. But neither Bhansali Productions nor the filmmakers have publicly confirmed her character’s profession in the material released so far. The safest conclusion is that the poster shows her in a cabaret-inspired performance setting, rather than treating her occupation as established fact.
Together, the two posters begin to make the title Love & War visually literal: Ranbir’s imagery leans toward conflict, while Alia’s introduces the romantic, glamorous and performative side of Bhansali’s world.
Love & War reunites Alia Bhatt with Bhansali after Gangubai
The film is particularly significant for Bhatt because it is her second feature with Bhansali after Gangubai Kathiawadi.
Earlier this year, Bhatt described working with the filmmaker again as “magical” while confirming that the production was nearing completion.
The project also creates several notable reunions within its three-star ensemble. Ranbir Kapoor is working with Bhansali as an actor for the first time since his 2007 debut Saawariya, while Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal previously starred together in Raazi. Kapoor and Kaushal, meanwhile, shared the screen in Sanju.
That makes Love & War less dependent on introducing an unfamiliar combination of stars; much of the curiosity comes from seeing how Bhansali rearranges actors who already have history with one another.
January gives Love & War a useful theatrical window
Love & War is currently scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on January 21, 2027, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
The date places the movie five days before India’s Republic Day on January 26, giving it an extended holiday corridor if the release remains unchanged.
The film’s main shoot was reported wrapped earlier in September, although additional work on some war sequences has since been reported.
For now, Bhansali is still keeping the actual plot and character details relatively protected. That makes these posters more useful than ordinary promotional portraits: Ranbir’s suggests violence and military conflict, while Bhatt’s reveals the extravagant stage world that apparently exists alongside it.
And with Vicky Kaushal completing the central trio, his eventual character reveal should tell us whether Love & War’s marketing continues dividing its three leads between the two halves of its title—or complicates that picture entirely.
