Last May, mid-day had reported that Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, the makers of Dongri to Dubai, were having the show’s set demolished as it was standing unused during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Now, encouraged by several projects that have gone on floors, director Shujaat Saudagar is ready to resume work on the underworld drama. The first step naturally has been to rebuild the set from scratch at Madh Island.

“The makers were initially considering returning to work only after the monsoon. However, they realised they will be able to wrap up a chunk of the series in the next four months. The production design team has begun recreating the set, a replica of Dongri of the ’80s,” reveals a source, adding that it is being built in the same premises where an elaborate set-up of Akshay Kumar’s period drama Prithviraj stood only a few weeks ago.

The web series, led by Avinash Tiwari and based on the book, Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia, chronicles the rise of Dawood Ibrahim. The source indicates that the cast will resume shooting in the first week of February. mid-day reached out to Excel Entertainment, which remained unavailable for comment.