Among the most ambitious projects in Bollywood is Vicky Kaushal’s The Immortal Ashwatthama. Aditya Dhar’s directorial venture, which originally was to go on floors in April 2021, was put on hold due to logistical issues borne out of the pandemic. Now, one hears that though Dhar is slowly putting the superhero film back on track, the makers are keenly waiting to see Brahmāstra’s box-office fate before ascertaining its budget. With many big-ticket ventures sinking at the box office, the makers want to tread with caution.

A trade insider reveals, “Ranbir Kapoor’s Brahmāstra is in a similar zone as The Immortal Ashwatthama, with both stories blending Indian mythology and superpowers. Brahmāstra’s performance will give an idea of the audience’s interest in such subjects. That’s why Ashwatthama producer Ronnie Screwvala is keen to see how the Ranbir and Alia Bhatt starrer fares before sealing his film’s budget. If it earns Rs 150-200 crores, it will give the Ashwatthama team the confidence to scale up their film to Rs 300 crores. They have the added advantage of time. Since the movie — which is currently in pre-production — will release only by 2025, the market will have hopefully improved.”

Trade sources indicate that for now, Screwvala — who had also produced Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) — has given the team a Rs 200-crore budget. “He is aware how hard it is to recover the cost in the post-COVID world. In pre-production, particularly costumes and art design, the team has spent over Rs 40 crores. The movie will be shot in various locations of Europe. That will require a hefty budget. Screwvala has requested Dhar to rework the logistics so that the budget is south of the Rs 200-crores mark.”

Since June, Dhar and his writers have been tightening the script that is a part-mythological, part sci-fi tale of Ashwatthama who had the power of immortality. The team plans to shoot in the second-half of 2023. The source adds, “Samantha Prabhu will first shoot for Raj-DK’s Indian version of Citadel, before starting this project. Vicky, too, is caught up for the next six months on Sam Bahadur.”

Dhar confirmed taking the film on floors in 2023, declining to comment on the rest.