Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 4, 2016)

While Shah Rukh Khan wraps up Imtiaz Ali’s The Ring, Aanand L Rai has started prepping for his untitled next, an unusual love story, in which the 51-year-old actor will play a dwarf. The filmmaker is flying out to Meerut today for a recce and will be in the city for the next five days scouting for locations.

“Certain parts of the film are set in Meerut so Aanand will spend some time there to familiarise himself with the culture and the people. They are expected to start rolling in the first half of next year,” informs a source close to the project.

While speaking to Mirror earlier (May 24), Aanand had admitted that it’s an extremely difficult film, both emotionally and technically, and is going to be a lot of hard work for the actor. “It usually takes me two-three years to complete a film, this one too will take time. It can also be attributed to my laziness,” he had joked.

Himanshu Sharma who has previously penned the Tanu Weds Manu films and Raanjhanaa has written the film. When asked if Aanand wasn’t inviting trouble taking the Bollywood Badshah to Meerut ,the source quipped, “No, it won’t be a problem. It’s Aanand and small towns are his forte.”