While a replacement for Katrina Kaif, who opted out recently, is yet to be found, the musical kicks off on Jan 22; will move to London next month
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 3, 2019)

After some hardcore action in Karan Johar’s period drama Kalank, it’s time to dance for Varun Dhawan. Remo D’souza’s yet-untitled musical rolls on January 22 with the actor playing a boy from Punjab who grows up in London. “During the first seven-day schedule in Punjab, a song and a few scenes will be shot after which the team moves to UK in the first week of February. A major chunk of the film will be shot in London, and it wraps up mid-April,” informs a source close to the development.

Like the Hollywood franchise Step Up, this film too will culminate with a face-off between two teams, one from India, the other from a western country. “It chronicles the journey of the underdogs who go on to defeat the champions. While Varun leads the Indian contingent, the makers are in talks with an international dancer to come on board as his competitor,” adds the source.

Prabhu Dheva features in a pivotal role of a mediator between two competing teams. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, the film which opens on November 8, also marks the acting debut of Shakti Mohan, winner of Dance India Dance, season one, and a mentor on Remo’s talent hunt show Dance Plus. Vartika Jha, a participant in the latter, will also graduate to the big screen. Katrika Kaif who was a part of the project, opted out recently as the dates clashed with Salman Khan’s period drama Bharat.

Though the details of the characters have been kept under wraps so far, sources confirm that the film doesn’t really have a well-established romantic track between Varun and the female lead. It focuses more on training sessions and the dance competition instead.

“The film will be shot in the 3D format, while there are also plans to convert it into the 4DX format as well. The attempt is to scale new heights in this genre,” said the source.