Ashwatthama will roll by April, says director of Vicky Kaushal-starrer

Having dedicated 2020 to pre-production, The Immortal Ashwatthama director says Vicky Kaushal-starrer unaffected by lockdown; to be shot across Iceland and Europe

The pandemic may have compelled several filmmakers to hit the pause button on their projects, but Aditya Dhar thanks his stars that his magnum opus The Immortal Ashwatthama has remained unaffected. The three-part modern-day superhero film, which has its roots in the Mahabharata, sees Vicky Kaushal as the mythological character who was given the boon of immortality.

"Takht was supposed to wrap up by December, and we were scheduled to kick off our film by early 2021. [Despite the change in the line-up], we are sticking to the schedule; the film will go on floors by April 2021. Vicky needs to train for three months for the movie. So, once he wraps up his Yash Raj Films' project, he will begin prepping in February," says Dhar, eager to reunite with Kaushal after the resounding success of Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019).

For his portrayal of Ashwatthama — the son of Dronacharya, the actor will have to train in horse-riding and various martial art forms, including krav maga and jujutsu.

Aditya Dhar, director

"He will have to weigh more than 100 kilos," chips in the director. Agreeing that the locations play a key role in such a subject, he is relieved to have ticked the item off his to-do list. "We will begin shooting in Europe, primarily the UK, and then head to Iceland. The final schedule will be in Mumbai. The plan may change depending on the COVID-19 crisis in these countries."

The lockdown has been productive for the director who ensured that every detail was attended to during the pre-production. "We have finalised our HoDs [head of departments] and begun our discussion with the VFX team. Since nobody has attempted such a subject before, we don't have a reference point. So, the VFX and design teams have to use their imagination and create [the universe] from scratch." Though Dhar has zeroed in on the leading lady, he refuses to divulge details until the deal is sealed.

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