Aditya Dhar and Vicky Kaushal first worked together in Uri: The Surgical Strike. (Photo: Aditya Dhar/Instagram)In a strange turn of events, we have learnt that Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan’s The Immortal Ashwatthama, which was going to be helmed by Aditya Dhar and produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Films and has been hanging by a thread for quite a while, has now been put on hold.
Sources tell indianexpress.com that the film has been put on hold indefinitely due to budget issues between the film’s production house and the filmmaker’s creative needs for mounting the film, which is billed as a superhero action film set in modern times. It was earlier planned as a trilogy. The three-part modern-day superhero film, which has its roots in the Mahabharata, would see Vicky Kaushal in a mythological avatar.
The source shared with us, “The film has been put on hold for now, yes. But the makers are trying hard to start work on the film again, as a lot has gone into prepping both the actors – Vicky and Sara for the film. Aditya (Dhar) has also spent a lot of time and energy in doing recce for the film. It’s been two years since the film was first announced.”
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The source also added, “While there was a lot of excitement for the film, there are also murmurs that there is an issue with the script and the production house would like to fine-tune it before they revisit the film.”
In April, it was rumoured that the film was about to go on floors. In fact, Vicky had taken to his social media platforms to share an update on the film’s development too.
According to a Bollywood Hungama report, the film has suffered a massive loss of Rs 30 crore and that has put RSVP under immense pressure. The report said, “The Immortal Ashwatthama has been in the prep stage for over two years now. The team did multiple recces, worked on the entire pre visualisation, did multiple meetings with the VFX team, got an international action unit on board to train Sara and Vicky for their action packed role over the last one year. Producer Ronnie Screwvala spent over Rs. 30 crore to get everything in place, and now, the entire investment has gone for a toss.”
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The Immortal Ashwatthama would be the second collaboration between Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP, Aditya Dhar and Vicky Kaushal. Their first film together was the National Award winning Uri: The Surgical Strike in 2019.
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