When the mighty meet

Hrithik Roshan, Ayan Mukerji and Jr NTR

What's the next step for Hrithik Roshan after playing a dedicated Indian Air Force pilot in Fighter? To go rogue. With the aerial action thriller's release behind him, the superstar is set to kick off work on War 2, which sees him reprise the role of R&AW agent-gone-rogue Kabir Dhaliwal. While director Ayan Mukerji had conducted two brief schedules of the espionage thriller in Spain and Abu Dhabi last year, the upcoming leg in April will be both extensive and decisive. Reason - Roshan will lock horns with Jr NTR, as they film one of the movie's elaborate fight sequences.

It's not surprising that producer Aditya Chopra is personally supervising War 2, considering it is a part of the filmmaker's ambitious spy universe. We hear he, along with Mukerji and the stunt directors, envisioned the action set-piece involving the two superstars. A source reveals, "Ayan and Aditya are pulling out all stops to make sure that the face-off is a spectacular sequence. The Telugu actor will join the shoot in April-end, after he completes Devara: Part 1. The producer-director duo have planned a nine-day schedule, during which the two actors will shoot the portion that will include hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. While this sequence will
begin on a set in Mumbai, a part of it will be shot in an international locale."

Before Roshan tests his strength against Jr NTR, who plays the antagonist, he will shoot his solo portions through the month of April. The source adds, "Hrithik's entry scene will be canned at the start of the schedule. The makers have planned an equally massive action entry sequence for Jr NTR as well. Knowing that action will be the USP of War 2, Ayan and Adi have roped in 11 international stunt coordinators, including Steve Brown, Spiro Razatos, Nikita Rozenko and Miguel Juzgado, who worked on Rambo: Last Blood [2019]." Leading lady Kiara Advani has yet to face the camera for the project.