Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 27, 2020)

After their National Award-winning Uri: The Surgical Strike, Vicky Kaushal and director Aditya Dhar are reuniting for a superhero action adventure, The Immortal Ashwatthama. Buzz is, Sara Ali Khan is the forerunner for the female lead of the film, which is currently in prep and hoping to roll by October, 2021 with a start-to-finish schedule.

“It will be shot over a span of 80-90 days at multiple locations in India and abroad in countries such as Greece, New Zealand, Japan, and Namibia, with plenty of time devoted to post-production as it will have a lot of visual effects for which Aditya has been collaborating with studios in the West,” revealed a source close to the development. “Sara’s character has an interesting mythological arc to it. She is expected to sign within a fortnight and will start prepping from early next year,” adds the source.

Vicky has been training all this while in Mixed Martial Arts, horse riding and spear fighting. The film is set in contemporary times and Vicky’s character is modeled on Guru Dronacharya and Kripi’s son born in answer to the Guru’s prayers to Shiva for a child as valiant as him. An immortal, he had a gem embedded on his forehead which gave him power over all living beings lower than humans and protected him from hunger, thirst and fatigue. He fought for the Kauravas against the Pandavas at Kurukshetra.

Speculations have been rife about Katrina Kaif coming on board but the actress is spinning her own superhero franchise with Ali Abbas Zafar which goes on the floors towards the end of 2021. Sara is presently in the last leg of shoot for Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re which pairs her with Dhanush and Akshay Kumar. The film is set in two different eras.
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Sources say after months of scouting, director Aditya Dhar keen to cast Sara Ali Khan opposite Vicky Kaushal in Immortal Ashwatthama
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 27, 2020)

Although he announced The Immortal Ashwatthama — featuring Vicky Kaushal in the titular role — over a year ago, director Aditya Dhar has remained tight-lipped on the film's leading lady. The filmmaker and producer Ronnie Screwvala had been apparently contemplating on the casting for months since the role is integral to the narrative. Now, one hears that the makers have zeroed in on Sara Ali Khan for the role.

"The makers feel that Sara fits the bill. They are excited as Vicky and Sara will be a novel on-screen pairing. However, she has yet to sign on the dotted line. The shoot of Aanand L Rai's Atrangi Re, which sees her team up with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush, was delayed due to the pandemic. So, Sara has to work out her dates for The Immortal Ashwatthama such that she can honour her pending commitments," reveals a source. In an earlier interview to mid-day, Dhar had revealed that he intends to take the magnum opus — imagined as a three-part franchise that has its roots in Mahabharata — on floors by April 2021.

mid-day texted Dhar and Screwvala's respective teams, who remained unavailable for comment.