The makers of the superhero film, Ashwatthama, headlined by Vicky Kaushal, are gearing up to take the film on floors by April 2021. The plan is to shoot it at locations in the United Kingdom, Iceland, Hungary, and India, subject to permissions and health and safety conditions during that time. Director Aditya Dhar, who helmed the much-acclaimed Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), had completed a part of the location recce and a chunk of the pre-production work on the film weeks before the lockdown.

The director, who revised the screenplay in the past few months, in a conversation with BT, said, “We revisited the script and created another draft, which is grander. We also finalised our heads of departments during this phase. Primarily, we concentrated on fine-tuning the story and the visual aspect of the film. There’s no precedent in India for what we are trying to do. The idea is to match the story and visual quality that the universes of Marvel and DC offer the audience. It needs solid homework, and we have to do it keeping the budget in check. We’ve ticked that box at the preproduction level.”

Lately, a lot has been spoken about using VFX techniques to create cinematic moments, crowd scenes and much more in the new normal. When asked how far will Ashwatthama rely on technological assistance, Aditya said, “Usually, I film the action live at real locations and then add VFX. We had done that with Uri: The Surgical Strike. It was done in such a way that it didn’t get noticed. That’s how we will work on Ashwatthama, too. Given the reality of our times, we have created a new draft, so that we can shoot keeping the health precautions and safety measures in mind without compromising on the end product.”

Vicky, who has a couple of projects lined up, will use the months before the shoot to undergo a drastic transformation. Not only is he likely to bulk up, but he also has to pick up various skill sets. “Vicky realises how massive this film is. I keep pestering him with these challenges. It happened with Uri, too, where he had to undergo a major transformation. With this film, he will not just scale up on weight, but also learn martial arts, ancient weaponry techniques, sword fighting, horse-riding and spade-fights among several other things. We’re also giving him a look that he has never been seen in before. It’s an overall change,” said Aditya.

When asked about Vicky’s contribution to the project so far, Aditya shared, “Vicky has an extraordinary sense of script. I think he has a director hidden beneath the actor. He is smart, intelligent and has a sound understanding of storytelling. He’s meticulous, but his efforts will never show upfront. He’s secure to the point that neither does he have a problem eliminating his own scenes, nor does he hesitate to give his lines away to a fellow actor. He thinks of the film in entirety. With an actor like him on board, half the battle is won.”