Alia Bhatt's 'Love & War' First Look Brings Cabaret Retro Glamour

The makers of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Love & War” unveiled Alia Bhatt’s first-look poster on Thursday, casting the actor in a glamorous, cabaret-inspired retro avatar a day after Ranbir Kapoor’s character reveal, Bollywood Hungama and India Today reported.

In the newly released frame, Bhatt is seated on a chair in a striking slit-skirt ensemble with a headpiece, her styling and expression pitched toward confident vintage glamour rather than a period-epic silhouette. India Today described a dramatic red-and-black look against a red-and-gold theatrical backdrop of stage lights and sparkling detail. The makers shared the poster with the caption “Aag bhi, dilon ki jaan bhi!” — fire and the life of hearts — and confirmed the film’s worldwide date of January 21, 2027.

Hungama noted that the reveal follows Ranbir Kapoor’s first look and continues a staggered campaign introducing the principal cast one poster at a time. Bhansali is directing and producing the contemporary romantic drama, a departure from the historical canvases associated with several of his recent films. The project will release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Bhatt’s turn marks another collaboration with Bhansali after “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” and pairs her again with Kapoor after “Brahmastra.” Vicky Kaushal completes the lead trio, reuniting Bhatt and Kaushal after “Raazi.” Hungama framed the three-star combination as a first for this grouping and a major curiosity driver ahead of the January opening.

Kapoor’s preceding poster, as recounted by India Today, showed a vintage convertible look with slicked-back hair, a pencil moustache and round sunglasses, plus a bruised and bloodied left arm that added grit to the composed frame. Captions around that reveal leaned on status, passion and the dual promise of love and war. Bhatt’s cabaret-leaning image now answers that rugged vintage note with stage-ready glamour.

Bhansali Productions and Bhatt amplified the poster on social channels Thursday morning India time, and trade coverage treated the drop as the next beat in a carefully paced rollout rather than a full trailer or song launch. Hungama said the campaign is beginning to offer audiences glimpses of the world Bhansali has built for the drama, with curiosity focused on how Bhatt’s character sits beside Kapoor and Kaushal.

For Hindi cinema audiences who have followed Bhansali’s recent run of lavish storytelling, the contemporary setting is itself a talking point. Rather than forts and battlefields, the early looks suggest nightclub lights, vintage cars and costume drama transplanted into a modern frame. That mix lets the studio sell star power and visual excess without locking the film into a single historical period.

Readers tracking big-ticket Bollywood promotions on Bollywood can pair Thursday’s Alia reveal with the site’s earlier Love & War IMAX and Ranbir first-look coverage, which detailed the large-format plan around the same January 2027 date. Together, the successive posters keep the film in the daily conversation months before release.

India Today emphasized that Kapoor’s reunion with Bhansali also reconnects the actor to the director who launched him in “Saawariya” in 2007. Layering that history onto Bhatt’s Gangubai collaboration and Kaushal’s rising dramatic profile gives the studio a deep bench of narrative hooks beyond any single costume still.

Trade desks treated the Alia drop as confirmation that Bhansali’s promotional calendar will keep stacking character posters before songs or dialogue teasers. Hungama underlined that Ranbir’s reveal preceded Alia’s by roughly a day, a cadence that rewards social refresh without exhausting the film’s visual inventory. India Today’s detail on the red-and-black costume and stage-lit backdrop gives stylists and fans a concrete mood board while still withholding plot.

The multilingual release plan — Hindi, Tamil and Telugu — signals the studio’s intent to chase a pan-Indian theatrical footprint in mid-January, a window that often favors star-driven romantic dramas. Pairing three A-list leads under Bhansali’s brand also lets exhibitors sell the film as an event title months out, even before a trailer locks the tone. Thursday’s poster is therefore less a finished statement than a reservation hold on audience attention.

What remains unseen is Vicky Kaushal’s character poster and any footage that clarifies tone — romance, rivalry, or both. Until those arrive, Thursday’s Alia frame does the job the campaign needs: it keeps “Love & War” visually loud, star-forward and timed for the long runway to January 21, 2027.