Last week brought the sad news of director Pradeep Sarkar’s demise. His passing has put a brake on the films he was making — from Noti Binodini with Kangana Ranaut, to a romantic musical thriller with Emraan Hashmi (Untold stories, unfulfilled plans, March 27). However, the first project that the filmmaker was to take on floors this year was Modern Parents. In January, mid-day had reported that Sarkar was making a film that explored the generation gap between parents and their Gen-Z children (The kids are alright, January 26).

“A second-generation actor, who has done several action films, was in the process of being signed on as the lead. Unfortunately, before things could be finalized, Pradeep ji left us,” says a source.

With a studio already on board to back the slice-of-life movie, producers Om Prakash Bhatt and Jass Khera were planning to kick off the shoot in early July. “Since the story is set in Mumbai, we were lining up a 36-day start-to-finish schedule in the city. Dada was so excited about the film that he had begun pre-production work on his own,” adds Bhatt.

The fate of Modern Parents will be determined in the coming weeks. Khera states, “There are legalities involved, with the studio backing the film. So we will get together to figure out the way forward. Dada will surely be missed.”