In an interview to Mirror (July 21), Varun Dhawan had admitted that the film he is looking forward to the most is his father David Dhawan's next directorial, Judwaa 2, for which he will begin shooting from mid2017. “It's a special film because in a career spanning over 50 films, my dad has explored every aspect of comedy, ranging from Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen and Raja Babu to Partner and our first film together, Main Tera Hero. Now, I want him to make a film from his heart. He has nothing to prove to anyone anymore,“ Varun had asserted, adding emotionally, “Spending time with him over scripts and discussing movies reminds me that he is the centre of my universe. I know that no matter how miserably I fail in life, I will always have my dad to fall back on.“

Now, Mirror has learnt that the script of the sequel to the 1997 hit is being penned by writer-director duo, Sajid-Farhad, closely monitored by Dhawan Sr and producer Sajid Nadiadwala. Over three drafts have been discussed with the makers who are now hoping to kick off the film earlier than planned, targetting a September 2017 release.

Casting is underway for two actresses to step into the shoes of Karisma Kapoor and Rambha (the leading ladies of Salman Khan's judwa heroes in the original), a source close to the development revealed. “It's a commercial film being planned on a grand scale with beach locations in the Mediterranean. The script is generously peppered with tapori slang and a remix of the chartbuster 'Tan Tana Tan Tan Tan Tara' from the original is in the works. The icing on the cake is that a special appearance is being written for bhaijaan. Salman has already agreed to step in as a 'godfather-gunda' to Varun's twins,“ the source informed.

Salman is excited about Varun stepping into his shoes and keen to be a part of the project too. Ask the writer Sajid if Sallu will appear in a double role again and he laughs, saying, “Everyone, including David sir and Sajid (Nadiadwala) bhai are really excited about the film. We are still writing and exploring ideas. Nothing is confirmed yet. But who wouldn't want bhaijaan in their film.“

While the original Judwaa was a remake of the 1994 Telugu movie Hello Brother, which in turn was inspired by Jackie Chan's 1992 starrer, Twin Dragons, a quirky tale of two estranged brother, the second instalment is a fresh script and not an adaptation or a remake of any film.